Why are no new cities being built?

[bandit957]

Why are no new actual central cities being built?

By that, I don't mean a suburb, a retirement community, or some small town. I mean an actual central city with maybe at least 100,000 peeps, and not in the shadow of a larger city.

I think new cities should be built in states that don't have many other big cities.

[corco]

Cities don't spring up overnight - I'd say Phoenix, Colorado Springs, and Boise are all pretty good examples of "new" cities.

[oscar]

"Edge cities" like Tysons Corner VA are attempting the transition between overgrown suburb and a "real city" (though not completely independent of Washington D.C. and its metro area).

[SignGeek101]

http://business.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/01/05/9926066-americas-9-newest-cities

[Desert Man]

The NBC news article I just read had 2 new cities in Riverside County CA: Eastvale and Jurupa Valley near Riverside. Jurupa valley along with another new city Menifee has over 100,000 residents. And Wildomar between Lake Elsinore and Murrieta is newly incorporated. In the 1980s-2000s period, Riverside was among the state's and nation's fastest growing counties, now with 2.2 million residents, and half of the Inland Empire region's 4.5 million with San Bernardino county to the north, although san Bernardino and Ontario CA has shrunk somewhat in population lately. 

[usends]

http://business.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/01/05/9926066-americas-9-newest-cities

Those were existing communities that just happened to incorporate recently, not "new cities" in the sense of the OP.

I think one big factor preventing new cities, especially here in the west, would be access to a reliable water supply.  Most water rights in the west have already been spoken for by existing claimants.

[Zeffy]

"Edge cities" like Tysons Corner VA are attempting the transition between overgrown suburb and a "real city" (though not completely independent of Washington D.C. and its metro area).

Rosslyn almost makes Washington D.C. look less urban because of the height limited imposed on the buildings in D.C. I always found it interesting to know that those shiny office buildings are really a part of Virginia, and not the District.

[davewiecking]

Neither Tysons Corner nor Rosslyn are cities in the sense that they are self-governed entities. They're both densely developed areas that are unincorporated parts of counties. The area commonly known as Tysons actually has very few residents.

[DaBigE]

I've been working on several, but I can't seem to find the Export to reality command in my copy of SimCity 4.

But seriously, assuming bandit957 means starting a city from scratch, good luck getting through all of the bureaucracies that already exist (existing county/municipal governance, funding, EPA, etc.). Any economic engine that spurs even the slightest bit of new, isolated development seems to hit a ceiling if not eventually dying-off completely. We're no longer bound by the needs that helped formed the original large central cities (transit resting points, damable rivers for industrial power, etc.), in addition to the needs of the people being more diverse than ever. For the most part, people are very mobile. And as usends said, tapping into a water source is key; existing cities are having a difficult-enough time of that already.

[Bruce]

Speaking of edge cities rivaling their neighbors in height and importance, Bellevue, WA boasts quite an impressive skyline. It tops out at 450 feet with several new additions under construction.


Bellevue skyline from Aubrey Davis Park by SounderBruce, on Flickr


Seattle and Bellevue skylines from South Overlake by SounderBruce, on Flickr

[Brandon]

Because cities don't just spring up fully formed overnight.  Every well-placed smaller town has a shot at becoming a larger city.  Even New York City was just a hamlet at one time, a mere trading post set up by the Dutch.  Rome started as a mere set of camps on seven hills.  London was just a small crossing of the Thames.  All grew over time.

[bugo]

Some cities have popped up out of nowhere. Brasilia is one example.

[vdeane]

Also Naypidaw.

[geocachingpirate]

Here is a new capital, called Oyala, being built in the middle of the rainforest in Equatorial Guinea. Idiots!

http://news.mongabay.com/2014/0702-zvomuya-gfrn-oyala.html

[nexus73]

Las Vegas was a nothing place before the Hoover Dam project began.  Menifee CA arose out of nowhere, gobbling up small towns and cities as if it was a black hole instead of a black dot on the map.  Bend OR went up an order of magnitude in about 4 decades. 

There has been plenty of vitality in terms of populations on the move when the western US is involved.  I wonder what the East, Midwest and South have done for Big Stuff emerging out of practically nothing to not much?  Florida and Texas would seem to be states that should have some stories along those lines. 

Rick

[jwolfer]

Las Vegas was a nothing place before the Hoover Dam project began.  Menifee CA arose out of nowhere, gobbling up small towns and cities as if it was a black hole instead of a black dot on the map.  Bend OR went up an order of magnitude in about 4 decades. 

There has been plenty of vitality in terms of populations on the move when the western US is involved.  I wonder what the East, Midwest and South have done for Big Stuff emerging out of practically nothing to not much?  Florida and Texas would seem to be states that should have some stories along those lines. 

Rick

Orlando has transformed from a small regional city to a metropolis of over 2 million.

Plenty of new towns in Florida. Palm Coast, Nocatee. The Villages to name a few

[ET21]

Give it more than one night and they'll spring up eventually

[Pete from Boston]

Las Vegas was a nothing place before the Hoover Dam project began.  Menifee CA arose out of nowhere, gobbling up small towns and cities as if it was a black hole instead of a black dot on the map.  Bend OR went up an order of magnitude in about 4 decades. 

There has been plenty of vitality in terms of populations on the move when the western US is involved.  I wonder what the East, Midwest and South have done for Big Stuff emerging out of practically nothing to not much?  Florida and Texas would seem to be states that should have some stories along those lines.

The East has been shouldering its load of helping people out west get rich making deserts temporarily fit for human habitation.

[jeffandnicole]

I think new cities should be built in states that don't have many other big cities.

In order for this to happen, you need a lot of moving pieces.  Most tall buildings have one or two main tenants, and a host of smaller tenants.  Those big companies are going to need people that have the knowledge that the companies need.  But those people aren't living out there.  So what comes first...a company without employees, or a whole bunch of people living in an area where they can't work?

And it just spreads out from there.  You need support companies to provide the main company with goods, products, assistance, food, etc.  You need roads, mass transit, airports, etc.  None of these are going to come with just a few companies and few people.  You need a lot of them.  It grows over time.

In the numerous examples provided above, new cities have been built.  It simply takes time.

[txstateends]

The only nearby example I know of would be The Colony, TX, just north of Dallas.  There was nothing there before the early 1970s except grassland and pasture along that part of TX 121.  A local developer known then for building homes was the backer of the project.  As a town, The Colony hasn't experienced the explosive growth in population and in geographic size as most of its neighbors, who have all grown to the point of meeting The Colony at each of its city limit borders.  But, the town has managed to become a prominent spot on Lake Lewisville's eastern shore, a focus of commercial development (including landin!coffee cg the newest Nebraska Furniture Mart, as part of a big mixed-use project), and of course, a stop on the tolled addition to TX 121--the Sam Rayburn Tollway.

A smaller, less successful example would be Carl's Corner, on I-35E between Hillsboro and Waxahachie.  I'm not really sure what was originally planned by Carl (a friend of Willie Nelson) besides the dumpy truck stop and a few house trailers, but enough voters were there in its earliest days to vote for incorporation as a city, and later a majority affirmative vote so that alcohol could be sold there. I've not been through there in a few years, but I would guess it isn't any more of a town now than when I last saw it.

[oscar]

Neither Tysons Corner nor Rosslyn are cities in the sense that they are self-governed entities. They're both densely developed areas that are unincorporated parts of counties.

Same could be said for Honolulu. I would not stand on that technicality.

The area commonly known as Tysons actually has very few residents.

A fair number of large condo complexes in the area (a few blocks back of the main highways), though it's fair to say that the residential and night life omponents of Tysons are still being "worked on".

[roadman65]

Clermont, FL???

Yes it always was a city even when citrus trees were around it, but then again in Florida pretty much everything incorporated is considered a city no matter what its size.  We do not have extra names like New Jersey does for each descriptor of a municipality like Boroughs, Villages, Towns, Townships, and Cities.  Its pretty much cities with the exception of Windermere, and probably Jupiter as the sign on I-95 said "Town Limit" upon entering the populated Palm Beach County municipality.   I say that cause it could be an error on FDOT, as Jupiter seems too big to be just a town.

Now Clermont is now built up with homes and able to have its own economy with many box stores, restaurant chains, real estate, and other businesses moving in as before it was a small town with the citrus farming and a few plants around to keep it alive. 

I would say its a new city as its not like it was before.  Try driving US 27 through it?  Many stop lights now line a typical four lane rural arterial only 15 years ago.

[cpzilliacus]

Kiruna, Sweden is moving its entire developed core to make way for iron ore mining operations which have been operating there for many years. The result will be a new city.

BBC News: Kiruna: How to move a town two miles east

[TXtoNJ]

To answer the main question - it's because all of the good spots are already taken.

In the initial European colonization of North America, towns were founded where geography provided for the essentials of life. Even today, these spots are where it's least expensive to sustain a city, or where it's more expensive, provides enough of a strategic advantage to offset the cost.

Besides, it's easier and cheaper to piggy-back off of established cities' resources by creating suburbs and exurbs.

[kurumi]

Here's a brand new city built for 1 million peeps. The population hasn't quite caught up yet.