Executive Summary:
The United States has not founded a major newly built city since Irvine, California, was incorporated in 1971 — over half a century ago.[1] In the decades since, the national housing shortage has grown to 4-8 million homes by various estimates, while many existing cities, having failed to keep pace with rising demand, are unaffordable. Zoning constraints, permitting delays, and high costs imposed by regulation have left little room for balancing supply with demand. We propose a bold alternative: Freedom Cities—new municipalities built by private developers over a 5-25 year time horizon on appropriately identified and suitable federal land – in the American West, designed to offer abundant housing, economic opportunity, and a fresh start.
This paper focuses on federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The BLM manages 24% (269,000 square miles) of all land across Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming (Ten Western States). Of those, eight have ranked among the top twelve U.S. states in home price appreciation over the past decade. In addition, the BLM manages large swaths of land where the highest and best use would be for the development of new communities.
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[1] Several are underway, including Teravalis, AZ and Summerlin, NV.
