
Free Cities
Foundation
What We Do
The Free Cities Foundation works with self-governing territories that uphold individual rights and freedoms.
Free Cities Foundation
Our Foundation works with self-governing territories that uphold individual rights and freedoms.

Free Cities
Free Cities are self-governing territories that uphold individual rights and freedoms.
Free Cities usually have a special legal status within their host state, which grants them autonomy to make decisions that affect their local community. This autonomy may allow Free Cities to make their own laws, introduce regulations, raise public funds, and deliver public services independently.
Free Cities differ from other kinds of autonomous territories in that they emphasize upholding individual rights and freedoms. Unlike many other special jurisdictions common in the world today – such as Free Trade Zones – Free Cities are focused on providing more freedom and a better life to full residential communities, rather than simply offering advantages to businesses.

Free Cities may adopt more traditional or more novel governance models. For example, one such model includes governance by a private operating company, where the rights of citizens are enshrined in a Citizen Contract. These cities seek to create the right incentives for a free and prosperous society by introducing a profit motive, clear legal protections for citizens, and independent dispute resolution into their governance. This is known as the Free Private City model.
The idea of Free Cities is not new by any means. Self-governing territories upholding individual rights and freedoms have existed in many forms throughout history. Today, we are seeing a renaissance of the concept after somewhat of a downturn during the age of nation-states over the last two or three centuries. Modern Free Cities are the heirs and continuation of a long-standing tradition. They also bring modern-day technological and institutional innovation fit for the 21st century.
There are many potential paths to establishing a Free City. Free Cities can emerge from historically distinct regions within nation-states or special administrative regions where autonomy has been granted more recently. Examples of Free Cities that have been able to achieve autonomy through a more recent government decree include Próspera and Ciudad Morazán in Honduras.
Free Cities may also start as liberty-focused intentional communities: territories within an existing nation-state that lack formal legal autonomy but are populated by people united by a common ethos. The shared values of an intentional community may allow its residents to achieve a higher degree of freedom than exists in surrounding areas and set it on the path to achieving more formal autonomy in the future.
Free Cities can also be established on the high seas. While all known land is currently under the formal jurisdiction of existing governments, some see a unique opportunity to establish self-governing communities on water. Floating communities that sit outside the jurisdiction of existing governments are known as seasteads.
Free Cities may also emerge from Network States. Network States are highly organized online communities that build online governance services with the vision to eventually define a physical territory and gain diplomatic recognition from traditional states. Citizens of Network States may seek to form a Free City, or an alliance of non-contiguous Free Cities, with autonomy within existing nation-states.

The Free Cities Foundation supports and builds on the broader new cities movement. In the past decade, there has been an incredible amount of attention and demand for cities where living standards could be increased and new modes of living together could be tried out. This space is incredibly diverse: from cities planned by billionaires and celebrities to the proliferation of special economic zones to New Urbanist developments addressing housing shortages or African Charter Cities creating growth and prosperity in the developing world, people all over the world are building our future, even though we might not yet know exactly what it will look like.
Find Your New Home
in a Free City
Free Cities are not just a theoretical vision. Entrepreneurs all over the globe are creating pockets of freedom and political innovation in a world of systems that have not lived up to our expectations.
The Free Communities Directory is a resource that will help you find up-and-coming places and projects aligned with the vision and principles of Free Cities.
News & Blog
Seasteading: The Movement, History, and Perspectives
In human imagination, the sea has always remained a symbol of freedom and independence — a sentiment with deep roots in both history and psychology....
Sark: A Small Island with Huge Potential
I am working to buy real estate for around GBP 100m, put an ambitious and carefully considered investment plan in place for sympathetic...
Odesa’s Economic Miracle: This 19-Century Free City Holds Lessons for Ukraine’s Recovery
Ukraine’s largest seaport, Odesa, has been making headlines recently — for a grim reason. In the past month alone, Russian drones and missiles have...
Free Cities and Privacy
Free Cities and Privacy have more to do with each other than appears at first glance. While part of this is a function of those interested in Free...
Ciudad Morazán Makes a Difference in the Life of Even the Least Fortunate
Anthoni Lopez was born in Choluteca, Honduras, in August 2007. He lived with his mother, father, one brother, and two sisters until he was seven...
Monaco: A State Owned By A Family
While Venice has lost its independence, another Mediterranean community founded by Genoese noblemen has survived to this day. This is the...
Join The Movement
The Free Cities community and movement has both an online and a real-world presence and extends all around the world. The easiest way to become part of it is to join our Telegram community group full of interesting news and discussions related to the Free Cities space.
Annual Conference
Don’t miss our flagship event – an annual conference hosted by the Free Cities Foundation. Titled Liberty in Our Lifetime, the conference is a unique opportunity for the global Free Cities community to come together to present, network, and learn about the latest developments in the world of innovative governance structures that create more freedom in today’s and tomorrow’s world.
