What is better: a city planned from scratch or one that forms spontaneously? In popular imagination, there is a belief that if a city was planned from the beginning, it must be better or more organized than others. In practice, however, this does not guarantee a city's success.
Cities like Tamansourt in Morocco, Songdo in South Korea, and King Abdullah Economic City in Saudi Arabia serve as cautionary examples of planning a new city from scratch only to struggle to attract the expected number of residents. These projects involved significant investment (both operational and financial) in urban design, space, and infrastructure but overlooked the fundamental economic reasons why cities exist.
