Flash Points

Themed journeys through our archive.

What the Cities of the Future Will Look Like

They’re smart, high tech—and possibly determining the future of diplomacy.

The Xiongan New Area in north China's Hebei province
The Xiongan New Area in north China's Hebei province
An aerial photo shows the Xiongan New Area in north China's Hebei province on Sept. 8, 2022. Xing Guangli/Xinhua via Getty Images

The cities of the future are here—or, at least, in the works. From Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s dreams of Neom, a $500 billion planned city, to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ambitions for the city of Xiongan, which he calls his “personal initiative,” so-called smart cities are being built from the ground up, to considerable global skepticism.

The cities of the future are here—or, at least, in the works. From Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s dreams of Neom, a $500 billion planned city, to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ambitions for the city of Xiongan, which he calls his “personal initiative,” so-called smart cities are being built from the ground up, to considerable global skepticism.

In this edition of Flash Points, we explore how cities, new and old, provide glimpses into global leaders’ ambitions and how they’re changing as the surveillance state expands, urban populations grow, and local governments become increasingly important to state-level diplomacy.—Chloe Hadavas


An aerial view of the citizen service center of the Xiongan New Area in China.
An aerial view of the citizen service center of the Xiongan New Area in China.

An aerial view of the citizen service center of the Xiongan New Area in China on June 2, 2018. VCG via Getty Images

China’s Futuristic City Is a Test of Its Planning Power

Xiongan is a window into Xi Jinping’s ambitions, Andrew Stokols writes.


Farmers harvest wheat in a field in Tabuk in April 2016. The province has been tapped for the location of a high-tech megacity called Neom.
Farmers harvest wheat in a field in Tabuk in April 2016. The province has been tapped for the location of a high-tech megacity called Neom.

Farmers harvest wheat in a field in Tabuk in April 2016. The province has been tapped for the location of a high-tech megacity called Neom. MOHAMED HWAITY/AFP via Getty Images

Mohammed bin Salman’s Bloody Dream City of Neom

Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion planned high-tech city involves forced evictions and vague promises of compensation, Sarah Leah Whitson and Abdullah Alaoudh write.


Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, left, and Zhihang Chi, Air China's vice president for North America, at Los Angeles International Airport on Feb. 19, 2015. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, left, and Zhihang Chi, Air China's vice president for North America, at Los Angeles International Airport on Feb. 19, 2015. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, left, and Zhihang Chi, Air China’s vice president for North America, at Los Angeles International Airport on Feb. 19, 2015. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)

Cities Will Determine the Future of Diplomacy

Urban centers are taking international relations into their own hands, Nina Hachigian writes.


Pedestrians walk in China.
Pedestrians walk in China.

Pedestrians walk near a massive electronic screen supported by a face recognition system, which shows the image of a jaywalker at an intersection, in Nanjing, China, on July 4, 2019. Traffic police in Nanjing use facial recognition technology to capture jaywalkers. Wang Feng/Imaginechina/Reuters

‘Smart’ Cities Are Surveilled Cities

When everyone and everything is connected, the door is open to all kinds of digital threats, Robert Muggah and Greg Walton write.


A woman walks upstairs in Jardim Peri, one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city of São Paulo on June 12, 2018.
A woman walks upstairs in Jardim Peri, one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city of São Paulo on June 12, 2018.

A woman walks upstairs in Jardim Peri, one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city of São Paulo on June 12, 2018.Victor Moriyama/Getty Images

The Future of Development Is Local

To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, the world will have to shift its thinking from the national toward the urban, Xavier Michon and Jaffer Machano write.

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