African cities are underfunded, both in terms of public expenditure and infrastructure investments.

Talent City is one of several exciting bright spots driving both infrastructure development and governance innovation in Africa.

Everywhere you look, founders are launching efforts to build new communities and entirely new cities.

The Charter Cities Institute (CCI) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (ZIPAR).

The recent Honduran elections may have ramifications for the greater charter cities movement.

When creative solutions are found, service provisions can improve quicker than anyone would otherwise expect.

There are elements of the charter cities toolkit which we can use to ‘fix’ cities whose governance is dysfunctional or destructive.

Marc Lore is building a new American city, Telosa, about which there are reasons to be both positive and skeptical.

A CCI team recently travelled to Zambia to meet with key stakeholders in the new administration.

The Taliban have retaken Afghanistan. What does this mean for the future of charter cities?

Gurgaon, India, Jiaolong, China, and Próspera, Honduras offer three models of private governance.

Could charter cities gain legitimacy by taking the job no other city wants to take?

Charter cities are not some theoretical, pie in the sky idea; there is real, tangible traction happening that can be accelerated with additional funding.

The purpose of this research project is to sketch the broad intellectual history of the role self-governing cities have played in economic and political development, from ancient times to the present.

Charter cities need to retain their focus on being transformative, which includes combining governance reform with agglomeration.

Like any early-stage startup, charter cities are currently a momentum play, and the state of charter cities is strong.

In a world with increasing numbers of forcibly displaced persons, charter cities provide one way to generate more effective responses to refugee movements while placing refugee and local community needs firmly at the center of local governance.

Somaliland is an autonomous region in the Horn of Africa that unilaterally declared independence from Somalia in 1991. Not only has Somaliland maintained democratic governance, but it has also made continual efforts to improve this governance and recently passed the “Somaliland Special Economic Zones Law.”

Ports need trade to justify the investment, governance to ensure effective operation, capital to be built and maintained. That ports are part of a larger process that can be described as development does not make them unimportant.

Doing Business is a valuable project, but its methodology could be strengthened.

Monetary authority is one power charter cities might not want to possess.

The Victoria Falls Stock Exchange as a model for mitigating currency risk.

Arjun Khaitan considers an Ostromian approach to industrial strategy.

What does peak internet coordination of real-world activity look like?

Starbase has the potential to become one of the greatest cities of the 21st century.

Jiaolong, China may be the world’s must successful privately operated city.

A new city for South Africa is not a bad idea, however it has to be driven by something greater than a desire for a new city.

A legislative analysis of Nevada’s interesting new proposal for “Innovation Zones.”

The Tiebout model demonstrates that competitive pressure across local governments can lead to the optimal provision of public goods. In other words, competitive governance works, provided several key assumptions

Background notes on DP World’s Port of Berbera, Somaliland as a potential charter city site.

A brief feasibility assessment on using to-be-closed US overseas bases as charter city sites.

Informal settlements are often depicted as shantytowns. However, informal settlements in Cairo don’t often fit this stereotype.

If Africa’s urban centers are to enjoy adequate provision of infrastructure and services, the decentralization of governance must be complete— not partial.

Within the charter cities space, there are many popular subjects of discussion, including industrial policy, urban planning, and corporate law. However, there is one critical legal subject that seems to be rarely discussed: bankruptcy.

Success of charter cities requires the building of a movement, a group of individuals and organizations with shared values and vision around a set of core ideas.

Urban development of African City-States have long contributed to its proud history of civilization. On its tropical East Coast, Kilwa Koswani developed and flourished alongside other city-states. Kosami, a city-state turned Empire, formed

Bastrop, Texas is bringing back the grid to urban planning. New cities in Africa should follow suit.

Walls and pyramids showcase the highly industrious and independent nature of the historic Kano people and provide a great foundation to understand the growth of the ancient city.

The American founding offers crucial lessons for charter cities.

The third entry in our Building Africa blog series on pre-colonial urban development in Africa.