Follow us
Blog4 min read
Praxis has finally found a physical home at +Colonia in Uruguay. Though being a sub-development under ordinary Uruguayan law is a long way from the self-governing city it once promised, it is still a move that deserves a warm welcome.
Free Cities Foundation
Academic24 min read
Most people assume that good governance is expensive. That it demands large bureaucracies, heavy tax burdens, and a government apparatus that grows in perpetuity. Carmel, Indiana suggests they are wrong. What the Carmel experience shows instead is that when a community shares basic norms, when the physical environment is well designed, and when leadership makes deliberate choices about what to build, governance gets cheap. Surprisingly cheap.
Alex Voss · Free Cities Foundation
Blog21 min read
Blog11 min read
2 min read
The photo gallery from the Free Cities Conference 2026 in Próspera is now online, together with the first talks on video and vlogs made by attendees. Everything from the four days on Roatán is collected on the conference page.
Free Cities Foundation
2 min read
The 2026 Free Cities Awards were presented on September 4 at the Infinita Dome in Próspera, on the second day of the Free Cities Conference. It was the first time the ceremony took place inside a Free City.
Free Cities Foundation
Blog3 min read
Alexander D. Voss’s new book makes a claim that sounds like a provocation: the most valuable underused asset the United States owns is a naval station in southeastern Cuba, which it could turn into one of the century’s most consequential cities. On a careful reading, the provocation holds. The case is not utopian. It is, if anything, unusually concrete, and the strongest objection to it, that America no longer does things like this, is precisely the objection the project is designed to answer.
Hynek Fencl · Free Cities Foundation
Blog4 min read
There is a line in Jamie Dimon’s 2025 letter to JPMorgan shareholders that reads like a warning shot aimed at high-tax state capitals. “Individuals vote with their feet,” he wrote. “You can already see a fairly large exodus of people and jobs out of some states with high taxes and high expenses.” Then he laid out the receipts. JPMorgan has cut its New York headcount from 30,000 a decade ago to 24,000. Its Texas headcount has grown from 26,000 in 2015 to 32,000 over the same period. He framed the migration plainly: “People often make this a moral or loyalty issue, but it is not. Companies need to remain competitive in this very tough, fast-moving world.”
Alex Voss · Free Cities Foundation
Blog4 min read
If you are building a Free City, a special economic zone, or any new jurisdiction from scratch, here is a piece of advice that sounds frivolous and is not: invest in beauty before you think you can afford to.
Alex Voss · Free Cities Foundation
Blog26 min read
In 1965, Singapore was a swampy island with a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of roughly $500, mass unemployment at 14 percent, and half its population illiterate.
Alex Voss · Free Cities Foundation
Blog11 min read
Intentional communities, planned developments, and new city projects share a common challenge: how do you fairly decide which shared infrastructure to build, and how do you pay for it? Whether the community is an off-grid village, a…
Alex Voss · Free Cities Foundation
Blog14 min read
In 2013, a Reddit post appeared under the title ‘I am a time-traveler from the future, here to beg you to stop what you are doing.’ The anonymous author described a world in which Bitcoin had become the dominant global currency, but in…
Alex Voss · Free Cities Foundation
Blog10 min read
It’s been a month since the Gulf war erupted. Triggered by the assassination of Iran’s leader in a U.S.-Israeli strike, the conflict has since spilled across the region.
Vera Kichanova
Blog5 min read
This month, we cover the dramatic political developments in Venezuela and their implications for Free Cities, announce new speakers for our conference in Próspera, and bring you up to speed on two major seasteading initiatives: LiberArx and ArkPad.
Natalie Danelishen
Blog6 min read
As we approach the end of 2025, we bring you an update on the long-anticipated Honduran general election results, Grokipedia’s newly published deep dive into Free Cities, developments on Sark, and more…
Natalie Danelishen
Blog3 min read
As many of you know, the Free Cities Conference is the one time each year when our project representatives from around the world come together to share their progress.
Natalie Danelishen
Blog9 min read
Disclaimer: The following article was written by an external author. The opinions expressed in it do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Foundation or its members.
Mariana Carmona
Blog7 min read
Cozy neighbourhoods shaded by eucalyptus trees and protected wildlands stretching from the Santa Ana Mountains to the Pacific Ocean—welcome to Irvine, a master-planned city in Orange County, California. With its Mediterranean climate, thriving economy, and more than one-third of its land reserved for green open space, Irvine consistently ranks among the happiest (top 3), healthiest (top 10), safest (top 3), and greenest (top 10) cities in the United States.
Vera Kichanova
Blog14 min read
Speech by Dr. Titus Gebel on the occasion of receiving the Roland Baader Award 14 June 2025.
Titus Gebel · Free Cities Foundation
Blog35 min read
A Lei Orgânica das ZEDEs foi revogada em abril de 2022. Três anos depois, a batalha judicial entre as zonas e o governo hondurenho continua aberta.
Hynek Fencl · Free Cities FoundationBlog35 min read
The ZEDE law in Honduras was repealed in April 2022 and with it, one chapter of the history of innovative governance has come to an end.
Hynek Fencl · Free Cities FoundationBlog38 min read
La Ley Orgánica de las ZEDEs fue derogada en abril de 2022. Tres años después, la batalla legal entre las zonas y el gobierno hondureño sigue abierta.
Hynek Fencl · Free Cities FoundationBlog25 min read
Das ZEDE-Gesetz in Honduras wurde im April 2022 aufgehoben. Drei Jahre später ist der Rechtsstreit zwischen den Zonen und der Regierung weiter offen.
Hynek Fencl · Free Cities Foundation
Blog4 min read
What if a government takes the form of a for-profit corporation? Forget the usual debates about left versus right. The Proprietary State throws a curveball into the entire political landscape. It dares to ask: what if we privatised the very act of ruling? Imagine a government with shareholders instead of voters, pursuing profit. The book dives deep into this radical idea, dissecting the potential boons and pitfalls of a ‘proprietary government’ – a government driven by profit motives, accountable to investors instead of voters.
Free Cities Foundation
Blog4 min read
Around the world, a quiet revolution is reshaping how we build and govern cities. From private blockchain in Próspera to the car-free streets of Lavasa, new urban experiments are challenging the old ways — and a growing number of pioneers are voting with their feet. Maybe you’re even browsing the Free Communities Directory right now, wondering where your next home might be.
Vera Kichanova
Blog6 min read
Ten new cities on federal land, chosen by competition and freed from the usual permitting: that was the Freedom Cities pitch. What it would take for a Freedom City to be a Free City, and where the idea stands in 2026.
Joyce Brand · Free Cities Foundation
Blog5 min read
Disclaimer: The following article was written by an external author. The opinions expressed in it do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Foundation or its members.
Tim Stern · CryptoCity
Blog5 min read
Disclaimer: The following article was written by an external author. The opinions expressed in it do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Foundation or its members.
Pavla Karon
Blog3 min read
Libertarians are often misunderstood. Some see them as malcontents seeking personal freedom to indulge in vices, while others assume they want a society with no rules or no regard for others. In reality, libertarianism encompasses a diverse range of people, only united by shared values like individual liberty, minimal government intervention, property rights, and voluntary exchange.
Joyce Brand · Free Cities Foundation
Blog5 min read
Disclaimer: The following article was written by an external author. The opinions expressed in it do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Foundation or its members.
Zuzana Martáková
Blog4 min read
The Free Cities Foundation team is excited to announce that the full schedule for our upcoming Liberty in Our Lifetime conference in Prague is now available on our conference website. If you’ve been considering joining us, it’s not too late to secure your tickets for this fantastic event, featuring over a dozen Free City projects from around the world, as well as a range of insightful speakers covering broader topics related to the freedom movement.
Free Cities Foundation
Blog19 min read
The way to Liberland is easy but not simple. Technically speaking, it’s just a short bike ride away from the nearest village on a comfortable bike path through a stunning forest known as the “Amazon of Europe”.
Hynek Fencl · Free Cities Foundation
Blog4 min read
Disclaimer: The following article was written by an external author. The opinions expressed in it do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Foundation or its members.
Jan-Olav Spiekermann
Blog5 min read
Though we live in the world of nation-states today, this was not always the case. In fact, the modern nation-state is a fairly recent invention. For most of recorded history, the world was ruled by a slew of differently structured powers and systems. One of those models, surprisingly common throughout all this time, was the city-state.
Hynek Fencl · Free Cities Foundation
Blog4 min read
Though we live in the world of nation-states today, this was not always the case. In fact, the modern nation-state is a fairly recent invention. For most of recorded history, the world was ruled by a slew of differently structured powers and systems. One of those models, surprisingly common throughout all this time, was the city-state.
Hynek Fencl · Free Cities Foundation
Blog4 min read
Though we live in the world of nation-states today, this was not always the case. In fact, the modern nation-state is a fairly recent invention. For most of recorded history, the world was ruled by a slew of differently structured powers and systems. One of those models, surprisingly common throughout all this time, was the city-state.
Hynek Fencl · Free Cities Foundation