5 Incredible Cities that Were Built from Scratch

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:00 - Chapter 1 - Astana 3:35 - Chapter 2 - Abuja 5:55 - Chapter 3 - Destiny city 8:30 - Chapter 4 - Rawabi 10:50 - Chapter 5 - Canberra

[@kaiserschnitzel89]

Ah, yes, Destiny City, Florida. Right next to Yeehaw Junction, Florida - and no, I'm not making that up. The project that ended years ago when the partners sued each other, then the one that won the lawsuit died, and then the widow donated the land to the University of Florida. So - no. It doesn't exist. It was a scam.

[@adampay8906]

Hopefully turns out better than Night City.

[@anarchyantz1564]

Well it has the name Clinton linked to it so will be a scam, and down the road you have the Orange Cult leader planning his next coup, lovely state!

[@aquilarossa5191]

It does not belong on the 'built from scratch' list, because, well, it's not built yet.

[@anarchyantz1564]

@@aquilarossa5191 And likely never will.

[@CanKenMakeIt]

It's as real as EPCOT the city.

[@AaronSmith-kr5yf]

Surprised Dubai wasn't on this list. Yeah I know it had been a sleepy village before oil, but seriously there were like 30,000 people living there in 1970 before the oil money came in.

[@chivebutter8794]

30,000 in Scotland is basically a City😅

[@terrygelinas4593]

Brasilia was built from scratch around 1960, if I'm not mistaken. Thanks for sharing info on those cities.

[@travisadams2766]

I think it should have been on here too. I think the only reason it wasn't, is because he did one a few months ago on it on this channel.

[@muhammedalghamdi4363]

Brasilia wasn’t as successful, it was a massive project but had little effect. One can say the project created more issues.

[@tayjaytesla1142]

I swear he did a megaprojects on that city already a few months back

[@letheas6175]

I would've included Lelystad or Almere in the Netherlands. While not being extremely big, they've been built in the biggest artificial island in the world (called a polder) which was reclaimed from the sea which to me seems pretty impressive. They're around +/- 4 meter below sea level, without even the slightest chance of flooding. Lelystad even has around 3.5 million tourists/visitors each year, which is pretty good considering the fact that it has almost 80.000 citizens.

[@ridanann]

I get it people have to have places to live but between the vikingy stuff and the Dutch trading companies and stealing the British throne I don't really think Netherlands deserves credit for anything they do it's built off the blood of other people. as a person who lives in England this is the pot calling the kettle Blacker so meh lol but as a celt I'm very aware of the harm laid by Dutchman the difference between the British and the Dutch is we have a history before our violence the Dutch Only Had A History of Violence. I believe in Redemption but I don't expect the Netherlands to succeed hopefully they prove me wrong. When a people's are first born they are not born perfectly they often have turmoil and conflict the Dutch the Germans the English germanic Nordic people's in general these young cultures of Europe only now slowly starting to get their head out of their ass it's gonna be an interesting future. The modern European Union is basically just a rehash of what Celts did when we founded Europe doggerland must reclaimed lol certainly ambitious.

[@ngedye]

Have you been to Almere? I wouldn't talk about it either. >.

[@letheas6175]

@@ngedye Yes sadly enough, and Almere is one of the ugliest cities ever, and nothing compared to even Lelystad (or Dronten for that matter, since Dronten has Walibi), but it is impressive, being built in a former sea. And that's kinda the point here.

[@ngedye]

@@letheas6175 I agree that the civil engineering accomplishments achieved was and still is very impressive. The building style was very fitting for the time. I don't think it's an achievement anyone else has managed - except for Dubai's palm islands, though not an entire city, which, by the way, was also with the help of the Dutch. It certainly needs to be mentioned, I was just trying to get a cheap laugh :D

[@ngedye]

@@ridanann Woah, where did that come from? This is about cites, not politics and dark pasts. No one in Europe is entirely innocent - that's how things were back in the dark days of old. We've moved on (though I agree some nations have not yet admitted or acknowledge their role in it's history). None of us were alive then, so we must not hate each other for what our ancestors did.

[@mikestone9129]

Belmopan, Belize Central America is another city built from scratch. When a hurricane almost leveled Belize City they built a new capitol city inland, in the jungle. Very interesting place and history, for a great country and people.

[@jimmiedmc1]

Simon's next channel ... Allegedly , a biographics type show in the buisness blaze satire on current people and events

[@thomasdarby6084]

Simon's next channel will have him sitting on a commode, wearing his blue blazer and repp tie, and discussing ten ways the world is about to take a Dump.

[@SpyralHax]

Would 100% watch "Allegedly" in that style.

[@benharper7083]

How did Brasília not make this list?!?

[@jonbettson7435]

I had assumed it would be #1, but Simon has done an entire show on it.

[@thamer646]

they don’t pay 💰 him 😉

[@arthurfariasdealmeida8746]

Brasilia, in my opinion, should be on the list. It was built in just 4 years!!, almost all the buildings are considered monuments

[@robmeagher2443]

Because it's an eyesore. Not necessarily the cities fault but either way it's a brutalist architects wet dream. Only problem is no one likes brutalitist architecture except for architects.

[@itznotmytube]

Saving it for part 2 perhaps

[@spoddie]

This should be retitled: "4 Incredible Cities and Canberra"

[@michaelb1761]

At least Canberra actually exists, unlike "Destiny City."

[@hestikakala3027]

Brilliant comment, I can't stop laughing. Only an Aussie could understand.

[@Biker_Gremling]

I'm not from "upside-down land", what's the deal with Camberra?

[@spoddie]

@@Biker_Gremling It's small and is mainly government workers and so has a (well deserved) reputation for being boriing.

[@MashMonster69]

Rofl. Though I'm a Murican, I got that the moment I saw it. It'd be like adding Brasilia to the list.

[@Ginrikuzuma]

So basically this guy played SimCity and spent 15 billion to make it real

[@Sergiblacklist]

Seems low doesn't it 15billion for a City

[@EcceJack]

Look up Ashgabat - not build from scratch, but large parts have been rebuilt/built very recently, and so it very much look like a SimCity or Cities:Skylines project by someone who only wants "nice" buildings in there :P In the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most white marble facades, or something like that

[@michaelb1761]

The same price as the proposed helicopters for the US president. Sounds like a bargain.

[@TheNinjaDC]

Destiny doesn’t really fit this list, as it’s mostly just theoretical.

[@ciaranbrk]

That and florida will be underwater in a hundred years.

[@christophereyton342]

It's a little older, started in the 16th century after the 1565 Ottoman siege, but Valletta, the capital of Malta, was one of the first planned cities built from scratch in the Western world. It is also one of the most compact and beautiful capitals in the world.

[@mtevilone]

You blew it Simon. Destiny Florida, died on the vine 11 years ago.

[@andymanaus1077]

As an ex-Canberra resident, I can report that Canberra is a mixed bag. On one hand it is wonderfully efficient with road systems that rarely become congested and a hub-like cities-within-a-city design that means you are never far from any facility or service you might need. On the other hand, there are a great many social problems that have emerged. Some areas of Canberra are now notoriously crime-ridden. There is a kind of sterility to Canberra as well. It is always apparent that it is a completely planned environment with very strict development guidelines that prevent urban facilities from occurring in a natural manner. It is a bureaucrats' city and it shows.

[@jordanfrancis8047]

I expected Venice to show up here. But washington DC and Brazilia and others guy here as well

[@iamjosh6027]

Aren't all cities built from scratch? Just some faster than others?

[@fredricunderhill204]

Interesting. Maybe we can put Washington D. C. Into unused ULCC and anchor them off shore on landfill bases and cofferdams off the Florida coast.

[@davidmayers8981]

There was a common saying at the time of Canberra being built, ‘the city’s construction ruined a good sheep paddock’. This morphed over time and now, generally because it’s full of politicians and has become, ‘It’s a waste of a good sheep station’ or similar.

[@K4GDS]

I would have expected the national capitals of Brasilia (Brazil) and Washington DC (USA) to be on this list.

[@tefayambaye4516]

He already made a video on Brasília

[@mikebronicki6978]

Should have at least acknowledged them as amo g the best examples.

[@robertlafleche3584]

I agree considering D.C is built on a literal swap.

[@curtisbranagan]

When youtube daddy pronounces Canberra right 🤤💦

[@yt.personal.identification]

He obviously has been told by an Aussie. That said, it still wasn't the first major Aussie city to be planned from scratch.

[@holidaymail]

He did pronounce Sydney as city though 😂

[@sutherlandA1]

@@yt.personal.identification the Hoddle grid?

[@golddragonette7795]

How else do people pronounce it? Seems fairly obvious, maybe due to bring Scottish

[@curtisbranagan]

@@golddragonette7795 instead of can-bra they say can-berra

[@MisterAndrewBuckley]

4:51 condors of the terrain, amazing

[@henkdouma8448]

At 5:37 twice calling it a mosque. The second building is off course the National Christian Center in Abuja and not a mosque.

[@slinkbradshaw8674]

Me: oh nice a new Biographics just uploaded Simon: You've only seen a fraction of my power

[@amaccama3267]

Thanks for adding Canberra. 🙂🤘

[@ngedye]

Canberra was my first thought. It's the only one I knew about :D WORLD FAMOUSE, DUDE!

[@JS-pb6gb]

You should do a video on new Cairo, since it did not make the list

[@Hudpix16]

I think it’s because it has just started. Will it even be finished? That thing was huge.

[@jjouney]

Where's Brasilia? When I read the title, Brasilia was the FIRST city I thought of. How could you have missed it?

[@villesippo5521]

I believe he has a whole episode about Brasilia in one of his other channels. Geographics i think.

[@Djphoenix9]

I feel like that Myanmar's new ghost capital Nay Pyi Taw should be on there

[@SunfireRay]

Excuse me, Simon: did you, or your producers, research “Destiny City” at all? If you had, you’d have found that it’s been a dead project for over a decade. Destiny, Florida not only never became an actual city, the entire project was abandoned in 2004. Yet you’re referring to it as “will have,” “will happen,” “will be.” That’s very odd. This would also be why you weren’t able to provide a single photo or video clip of the place, and instead went with stock images. I love in Florida, for reference. This is all very easily discoverable by Googling “Destiny, FL,” or as you called it, “Destiny City, FL.”

[@SunfireRay]

It was also founded by Fred DeLuca, the founder of Subway. Y’know, the sandwich shop. That’s kinda important, and clearly paints this as a failed business venture than any “green city of the future.” It was basically a scam that ended in 2004. 17 years ago.

[@Volodimar]

No, they didn't do a research. Simon works for content farm.

[@thomasdarby6084]

Hmmm. The Florida Project is still fraught with politics, cost overruns, and is generally seen as pie-in-the-sky. Whereas, you failed to mention two of the most obvious choices for this video, Brasilia in Brazil, and Abu Dhabi in the UAE.

[@tayjaytesla1142]

@@v1n1c1u55anto5 Or he just already made a video on Brasilia.

[@BIGJATPSU]

Sideproject idea since you mentioned Kazakhstan: The Aral Sea Restoration efforts. Could possibly go to the Megaprojects channel as well depending on how much of a deep dive you go into it.

[@sandybarnes887]

Did it on his geographics channel. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnaspWeFpM90abs

[@nts821]

St. Petersburg? Washington DC? Islamabad?

[@jantschierschky3461]

Well Canberra was a very boring place 35 years ago and I thought I was transplanted to north America. Now it is liveable and has an atmosphere. However having Australia's coldest winter temperatures, I rather be in Perth. Simon could have listed Brasilia and number of other capital cities

[@BearsTrains]

And Canberra drivers are the worst

[@lemao366]

@@BearsTrains I'm Canberran and I agree 100% with that

[@spddiesel]

Ya know, moving your center of government and commerce as far away from China as possible isn't the dumbest of ideas.

[@mlee6050]

As of past I feel bad as got Russia other way, I feel Russia is more of an issue than China

[@pacldawson]

The best "from the ground up" city plans account for long-term growth, and those who design exceptional plans need to be well-grounded, yet out-of-the-box thinking futurists

[@amandajones8841]

Hello from Canberra!

[@falloutpictures]

Destiny city... Is that the one going up in Osceola near Yeehaw?

[@Denpachii]

Yes, in theroy, and a major farce it is too. After reading the leagle issues, including a five billion dollar lawsuit against DeLuca for fraudulent financial practices associated with creating loans for the Destiny project, I think this one is dead in the swamp. In June 2016, a judge ordered Pugliese pay $13 million to DeLuca's estate.

[@SunfireRay]

“Going up.” Its been a dead duck since 2004. It’s not “going up” at all. It’s long abandoned. Simon very badly misrepresented what thing is. It was a failed scam investment between a lawyer and Fred DeLuca, founder of Subway, the sandwich shop. Real development or government never had anything to do with it.

[@falloutpictures]

gotcha, I've only been that way once and that was when I visited a friend that was vacationing down in Vero Beach recently I usually head north up to Jacksonville.

[@theamishsoylentretailersof1952]

Greetings From Hind Tit , Missouri

[@brapamaldi7666]

canberra is a fun city. if your not local the taxi drivers will go round and round those big circle roads ripping you right off. if you catch a taxi in canberra i recommend opening your gps app and making them follow the route, unless you like giving people more money than you should.

[@a_friendly_alien4289]

The Florida sounds like a terrible idea, cause it’s “Florida”

[@carsongeye1462]

Kinda funny that a city designed for green energy chose to place their city somewhere that’s gonna be underwater in less than 50 years.

[@SunfireRay]

@@carsongeye1462 It was essentially a failed business venture; the founder is Fred DeLuca, founder of Subway. It was never a “green city of the future,” or any such nonsense. It was also completely abandoned under a barrage of state law suits in 2004. All Googleable.

[@SunfireRay]

It was founded by Fred DeLuca, the guy who founded Subway. The sandwich shop. It also went belly-up all the way back in 2004. This is the story of a scam, not any kind of “green city” nonsense.

[@alexanderlittle9786]

@@carsongeye1462 thats just not true and you are stupid for thinking it. Ill bet you $10,000 that florida is not underwater by 2070. Even if it is, it will be reversed in a couple thousand years at most before the next ice age makes things WAY WORSE for us than global warming, which is a bull shit term. And climate change is real and probably recently has to do with human beings... but we still are not going through the fastest temperature change since our species has been around. And if you think climate chahge will kill everything and nothing will adapt then you are honestly just an idiot. Some things will die, some things will thrive, some things will evolve to adapt, and it will take a long time but new species will develop. If a drastic change in climate was a death sentence for us and our animal and plant friends... THERE WOULD BE NONE LEFT.

[@bryantsteury8910]

@@carsongeye1462 Almost like they don't believe it's going to happen either

[@jesipohl6717]

biofuel isn't exactly green energy when it's farmed and not recycled. just sayin.

[@wasi-ur-rahman3130]

Brasilia, Islamabad, Chandigarh, songdo-incheon, ciudad seems la paz, masdar and many more in M.E

[@sydhenderson6753]

Astana is back to being Astana. One of the reasons it's where it is is because there's a substantial river, the Ishim, that runs through it. Omsk is north of it on the Irtyish and Novosibirsk to the east on the Ob. Of course distances are huge there but it's a lot better than being too close to China.

[@StfuFFS]

This feels more mega than side.

[@kmlynden1]

I was really expecting to see Milton Keynes on this list.

[@aquilarossa5191]

Same. I grew up there.

[@ngedye]

LOL I said the same thing >.

[@ngedye]

@@aquilarossa5191 My condolences :D

[@TonyA552]

You mentioned Brasilia as an aside but forgot to include it on this list. It was hacked out of the central jungles of Brasil in 1960 completely from scratch.

[@dingus153]

As an Aussie I was about to leave an angry comment if you didn't mention Canberra, even though it is a super boring place and full of government employees

[@twocvbloke]

Next planned cities idea; Cities that were built from scratch, but nobody moved into... :P

[@markredacted8547]

It will be like a top 5 of Chinese cities 🤣

[@matthewcombs5387]

Do the Space Shuttle Simon!

[@shape816]

I find it odd that you inform that Astana changed to Nur-Sultan, then continued to call it Astana for the remainder of the clip.

[@Denpachii]

Destiny, Florida is "near" Yeehaw Junction. In 2010, the project was delayed due to lawsuits and opposition from Florida state agencies. Google maps does not list it, you cannot see it anywhere near Yeehaw, and if you bother to look closely, using Yeehaw Junction as your center point, it would displace many farms and impact conservation areas and mostly unspoiled land. "In 2009 Osceola County proposed an amendment in its comprehensive building plan for a "new city overlay on more than 500,000 acres in a rural area in the county", which would allow for the construction of the Destiny development as well as several other large-scale projects. The Florida Department of Community Affairs opposed the amendment, citing the Florida’s Growth Management Act and stating the amendment would contribute to urban sprawl" I noticed that even Simon has no pictures on this, and did not mention these issues for some reason. Oh yes, there is a huge Air Force base and bombing range nearby as well.

[@badgerello]

Yeah; Destiny City isn't a thing. Canberra is an interesting place - not the most exciting spot on the planet but has some points of note. Also consider the National War Museum and Questacon science centre; plus, as it is seat of National Government all the National Embassies are located there and most have adopted their own representative architecture; so the Embassy Drive is brilliant.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Thanks

[@mikeseier4449]

Why the thanks?

[@Vegas_Des]

Love your gun vids!

[@spasmmcspasm]

I lived in Canberra for ten or so years. It is a hole, the city without a soul.

[@thekingminn]

Especially in winter.

[@spasmmcspasm]

@@thekingminn Especially 25,000 public servants doing the job of 10,000. I knew several people that would go to work and do nothing all day.

[@spasmmcspasm]

@@thekingminn And don't forget summer as well lol.

[@spasmmcspasm]

@@thekingminn And those spring pollen storms.

[@spasmmcspasm]

And that damn bushfire that burnt up 400 homes. Ah the memories.

[@spritemon98]

Aye!!! The audio is better in this one. Great job

[@milk-it]

You've slipped a few references in your videos about Australia - you should get down here some day when the next chance arises.

[@fvckyoutubescensorshipandt2718]

SimCity in real life. I guess billionaires have to find some way to spend their money faster instead of just buying a $50 game.

[@Denpachii]

TU just for your name.

[@jeremymiller4280]

The vision and building of Arcosanti would be interesting to learn about.

[@spoony8232]

"5 Incredible Cities" *shows Canberra*

[@reed_reed]

I went to Canberra so I could leave.

[@robmeagher2443]

At least he didn't include Brazillia...

[@hugooj]

Watching this from Canberra 😌

[@MusashiSamurai]

There's a bunch of _built-from-scratch_ cities in the middle-east; not to mention Islamabad and Brasilia.

[@markredacted8547]

What's the one in Emirates that's entirely green, only electric vehicles allowed and everything is environmentally friendly? I think it's in the Emirates, that place looked awesome.

[@Dave_thenerd]

What about the dozens of planned Chinese cites?

[@toddnolastname4485]

"Central Planning" That phrase always worries me.

[@robertlafleche3584]

He didn't mention my latest project in Cities Skylines. It's my best work yet. 😅

[@itarry4]

If Millennium tower is "the tallest man made structure" in the City of Abuja what is the tallest structure, I'd love to know what natural structure is taller than that tower. Unless there's a mountain in the City and you're classing that as a structure I'm struggling to think of anything that might fit the description.

[@fredericrike5974]

I notice you only included the successes. Any chance of doing the many failures?

[@Mr-G131]

look up Destiny Florida. it never actually existed and wont. It was a failure.

[@fredericrike5974]

@@Mr-G131 The way Simon presented it, I thought it was still in progress. My question goes to several "new build" cities the Chinese have thrown up that are languishing and some others.

[@wmeemw994]

Astana seems to have made a ‘ghost town’ of its predecessor capital but retaining an urban-industrial city, while creating either a future D.C. styled metro-center & seat of central government in Astsna.

[@philwood5288]

Canberra resident here. Thank you for the mention.

[@LiamNI]

Haven't even started the video, but came here to say, Shenzhen should be number 1 on this list in terms of sheer scale. From 30,000 people in 1977 to over 20 million today.

[@LiamNI]

Hmm. That worked out well..... 😂

[@jmjsr]

What about the cities in China. Oh, they aren't livable. Falling down already.

[@andy.8444]

Lol most of the former ghost towns are filled with people now.

[@spoonietheory]

OMG Canberra was my suggestion! That's so cool.

[@FlesHBoX]

Kind of surprised to not see New Songdo on this list.

[@weatherman667]

Megaprojects: St. Petersburg

[@toffthe]

Chandigarh ??? Much more interesting than any of the cities above.

[@kiltedbroshar4187]

Your next side project should be your take over of KZbin 😂😂

[@isaac_opeyemi]

Lagos is still "polluted, congested and lacking sufficient infrastructure and facilities".

[@TheEvilCommenter]

Good video 👍

[@thekingminn]

No Nay Pyi Taw.😢😢

[@loumcast]

I can't believe you would feature Destiny, Canberra, but not Brasilia - which is bigger and more important than those two cities.

[@globalhawk5328]

I'm surprised that Brasília (capital of Brazil) wasn't mentioned.

[@SevCaswell]

Kinda surprised that Milton Keynes, the spiritual home of the roundabout, wasn't mentioned...

[@aimokan]

Brasilia would've been worth mentioning. And maybe the current one they are planning for Indonesia..

[@grandnagus5851]

Brasilia and Wolfsburg, two cities that, imo, are missing on this list.

[@geoffreyhansen8543]

Was Venice a city built from scratch and could it be the subject of a future video?

[@ChadWilson]

Odd to include a city that hasn't been built yet in a video about cities that have been built, past tense.

[@israelgarcia7269]

Can't believe they forgot to mention Rapture, and the genius of Andrew Ryan.

[@mikebar42]

*Headline* Florida Man is back in the news for buying real estate in imaginary places... *Florida Man's Last Words* if you build it, they will come 💦

[@madrabbit9007]

Washing DC should have made this list and Napoleon's gutting and rebuild of Paris should be a mega project unto itself.

[@ABrit-bt6ce]

5:30 if thats the mosque then what is the other building with the same caption immediately after?

[@wonderwinder1]

You forgot Washington DC...the only made from scratch city that actually feels like a city rather than a dystopian nightmare. Yes, I know Washington DC is it’s own evil twin, but it’s great city based on the criteria that cities are measured by.

[@ageoflove1980]

What about Almere in The Netherlands? A city of 200.000 in the Dutch province of Flevoland that not more than 60 years ago still was, you guessed it.. , water!

[@theamishsoylentretailersof1952]

Astana , Kazakhstan . Look at them showing off all of that Superior Potassium money .

[@danielmacdonald4499]

Sorry your comments about Canberra made me LMAO

[@sergioortiz8219]

No mention of Brasilia or Naypyidaw? Or the new capital of Egypt?

[@lapptech]

Naypyidaw should have been on the list, maybe make a separate video about it.

[@williamwingo4740]

How about Ottowa, Canada; St. Petersburg, Russia; Washington, DC; and Brasilia? The first two are where they are because Queen Victoria and Peter the Great (respectively) pointed at the map and said "There!" and the last two were decided by committee. And even if they never put one organic stone on top of another, Destiny City will let us feel good about ourselves for a while--which is the important thing.

[@sydhenderson6753]

He was restricting himself to the 20th century and later. But Brasilia should be on here.

[@InternetDarkLord]

Washington DC and Saint Petersburg were both capitals built from scratch.

[@kresokreso4635]

Those cities grow in 20 years from zero. My city cannot rebuilt train tracks in 30.

[@jantschierschky3461]

You asking too much

[@williamhardway6436]

Simon, every city is built from scratch. Nature doesnt make skyscrapers

[@TriStruggleBus]

I suppose Naypyitaw doesn’t quite meet the definition because it remains largely empty?

[@JemIsMyName80]

Funny.. you not include Putrajaya, Malaysia.. it was one of largest south east asia project ever..

[@PMW3]

huh, I had always assumed that Sydney was the capital of Australia