Startup Cities route map
Startup Cities ranked
1
Ciudade Del Saber
Panama City, Panama
3
Eko Atlantic City
Lagos, Nigeria
“Startup Cities” are entrepreneurial ventures to build and manage cities. In contrast to government municipalities that are run by elected officials, startup cities are private and for-profit. Their purpose is, like other startups, to offer products that beat the competition while introducing something new to consumers. But in this case the “product” is the city itself.
All Startup Cities ranked below are ones that Scott Beyer has visited on his 1.5-year tour of the Global South. The ranking is based on which of them seem to be the best cities to invest in.
1
Panama City, Panama
3
Lagos, Nigeria
6
Lagos, Nigeria
7
Panama City, Panama
8
Kigali, Rwanda
9
Escuintla, Guatemala
10
Florianopolis, Brazil
11
Nairobi, Kenya
13
Palhoca, Brazil
16
Antananarivo, Madagascar
17
Cartagena, Colombia
18
Undisclosed location, Africa
Privately
managed
For profit
Experiments with unique living arrangement
Strives to look, feel urban
Some level of autonomy from host government
14 metrics we use to rank investment quality of Startup Cities
Human development
Economic freedom
Autonomy level
Project financing
Investment results
Businesses and population
Tax rates
Lifestyle and amenities
Land use
Quality of management
Agglomeration
Geographic stability
Infrastructure quality
Miscellany & X factors
Scott Beyer is an urban affairs analyst and investor interested in an urban privatization model that's come to be called "startup cities." He's taking a 1.5-year trip through the Global South - spending a half year each in Latin America, Africa and Asia - to focus on this emerging real estate genre. All cities ranked on this page are ones that he has visited. If interested in learning more, contact him at scott@marketurbanist.com
