19 January 2010

» Charter Cities - The new Shanghais

Paul Romer, a Stanford prof, is championing the idea of international charter cities. Essentially, stable Western countries would – with permission and cooperation of the the host government – set up and run brand new cities in the world’s most deprived areas.

The idea is to either create stability through the good example of 24 hour power, proper sanitation, public transit, and the like or to ease the transition from one political faction to another.

Romer gives the example of Guantanamo Bay.

For decades, the Unites States and Cuba have been parties to a treaty that gives the United States administrative control over a portion of Cuban territory straddling Guantanamo Bay. In a new treaty signed by the United States, Cuba, and Canada, the United States could give up its treaty rights, and Canada could take over local administration for a defined period of time.

An administrator appointed by the Canadian prime minister would be responsible for setting up and enforcing the rules that apply in this special territory. The legal protection and institutional stability that the Canadians provide would attract foreign investors and foreign citizens to the city. As the city grows, the Cuban government would gradually allow freer movement of people and goods between the land it governs and the charter city. At the same time, supporting cities and suburbs would grow up on the Cuban side of the city’s boundaries. The charter city itself would eventually return to Cuban control.

In this case, a treaty creating a special administrative arrangement already exists and Hong Kong provides a model for how a city might be governed. An interesting variant would be one in which several countries (e.g. Canada, Spain, Norway, Mexico, and Brazil) stand in place of Canada alone.