It is a secret fantasy of many municipal government employees: to improve and re-design their city—or even to design a new one.

Here is my challenge to your wonderfully fertile mind: In your spare time, think about what elements you would want to see in a new city. A green or brown field site; no financial constraints; just your own imagination and creativity.

What could be more fun? And what could possibly go wrong?

The reason I'm writing about this admittedly esoteric topic is because around the world, in the past ten years or so, nearly 100 new cities have been announced or begun to be constructed.

Many of them are in quickly growing population centres such as Africa, India, and China (although there are some huge problems with China's developers of large apartment buildings, including bankruptcy or financial crises, that has hammered China's economy).

However, some are also projects being proposed in other population centres—near San Fransisco, for example. A proposal with the odd name of "California Forever", and which is funded by several Silicon Valley rich folks, proposes a city of 400,000 that would be high-rise, clean and green, and walkable.

Another new city is being contemplated in Arizona by Bill Gates. Having that kind of money is a rather obvious requirement for building a new city. However, many governments in other countries are also stepping up.

Egypt is building a new Administrative capital city north of Cairo that will eventually have a population of 6 million. Indonesia is getting ready for its new capital, Nusantara. Saudi Arabia is planning several new cities, beginning with its vast NEOM project.

Some other projects raise an eyebrow. El Salvador is planning to build a new crypto-city; bonds to fund it would be paid out in bitcoin. The Kingdom of Bhutan wants to build a 'mindfulness city', based on a Buddhist symbol.

Different countries and different cultures will obviously have different objectives. Which brings us back to Canada.

In an ideal world, where you are the Chief Planner (and also overseeing the Treasury wouldn't hurt), what elements would be critical to your new city? What design elements would you create? Walkable? Green? Energy efficient? Treed downtowns? Or is there a downtown? Transportation system—what kind?

Could you build a vast underground system to do garbage collection? And could it provide heating and cooling in your new city? Water and wastewater plans? All high-rise housing? A mix of different housing? Cultural facilities? Parks and playgrounds? What would schools look like?

So many questions. So few answers.

Realistically, most of us agree that cities in Canada are broken. The financing system for municipalities based on property taxes is doomed. The governance structure is unfair and unworkable. And the infrastructure needs are outpacing any Canadian city's ability to finance them.

So, the next time you're having a beer or sharing some wine with friends, and the conversation gets boring, throw this topic out there: what would your brand-new city look like?

(PS. If you ever felt like sharing some of your brilliant ideas with me, I would love to hear from you! GORD)