FANTASY ISLAND: Paul Romer and the Multiplication of Hong Kong

Abstract

The research reported here was supported by Social Science & Humanities Research Council grant 430-2018-00468, 'Hong Kong at the edge'. We are especially grateful to Beth Geglia for generously sharing her insights on the model-cities initiative, and for the advice and suggestions from the handling editor and three reviewers for IJURR. Responsibility for these arguments, and any errors, is ours alone.

Blockchain urbanism: Evolving geographies of libertarian exit and technopolitical failure

“…After a series of early failures, the ZEDE concept reemerged in 2020 with the establishment of Próspera on the Caribbean island of Roatán and Ciudad Morazán near the industrial city of Choloma (Ebner and Peck, 2022; Geglia, 2020). Geglia and Nuila (2021) examine the extreme limits on democratic participation in the Próspera ZEDE, with the jurisdiction managed by a private American company and overseen by a Council of Trustees.…”

“…The secessionist imaginaries developed in Moldburg's Patchwork and embodied in seasteading also inform proposals for autonomous cities. Proposals for "startup cities" or "free private cities" reproduce narratives about corporate-style governance and opt-in jurisdictions (Lynch, 2017), while pointing to global cities like Singapore (Luger, 2020), Hong Kong (Ebner and Peck, 2022), and Dubai as inspiration. Proponents hold up China's Special Economic Zones (SEZs) as a model for carving out small jurisdictions within existing countries to experiment with market-based governance schemes.…”

CITIES AND THEIR GURUS: The Role of Superstar Consultants in Post‐political Urban Governance

“…Second, in contrast to lay consultants who operate their own firms and circulate ideas through business interactions, gurus enjoy the support of universities, influential thinktanks and philanthropic institutions that introduce their ideas to the public sphere on a regular basis in their magazines, politics shows, podcasts and ‘big‐idea’ events and supply the infrastructure for their stardom (Peck, 2016). Third, gurus base their credibility upon ‘model cities’ (Kennedy, 2016)—settings that prove their ideas, using them to illustrate how to apply their ideas elsewhere (Grodach, 2012; Tarazona Vento, 2015; McCann and Mahieus, 2021; Ebner and Peck, 2022). While the literature highlights cities’ potential to benefit from their status as model cities (Grodach, 2012), the common outcome is the creation of an exploitive relationship in which the guru expensively sells cities irrelevant ideas that have been applied elsewhere, eventually blaming them for their unsuccessful application (Peck, 2005; 2016; MacLeod, 2013).…”

“…Second, they are supported by think‐tanks and philanthropy that propel their ideas into the public sphere and generate the infrastructure for the ‘celebrity urbanism’ arena in which they act (Peck, 2005; 2016). Third, they base their credibility upon ‘model cities’ (Kennedy, 2016)—places that illustrate and allegedly prove their ideas (Grodach, 2012; Tarazona Vento, 2015; McCann and Mahieus, 2021; Ebner and Peck, 2022). However, while these dynamics may explain some of the differences between ‘lay’ consultants and gurus, they do not fully account for the gurus’ interaction with cities.…”