Exploring Próspera: The Ambitious Experimental City in Honduras

Exploring Próspera: A New Kind of City

Jorge Colindres, a sharply dressed lawyer with a fresh cologne and a clean shave, handed me a hard hat as we prepared to take the elevator to the 14th floor of what stands as the tallest building on the Honduran island of Roatán. This ambitious construction, known as Duna Residences, is set to feature 82 luxury units that offer breathtaking views of a lush jungle filled with palm trees and the stunning Caribbean Sea, all while neighboring several other new structures that the Honduran government has deemed illegal.

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If Próspera were like any ordinary town, Colindres would likely be considered its mayor; however, here, his official title is “technical secretary.” As we gazed out over a clearing in the trees one February day, he pointed to a modest office complex where he oversees tax collection and manages public finances for Próspera’s approximately 2,000 physical and e-residents. Many of these residents have paid a fee to either live in Próspera or to establish a business remotely within its jurisdiction. Not far from us is a manufacturing facility that plans to construct modular homes along the coastline, featuring designs by the renowned Zaha Hadid Architects. In the opposite direction, a mile away, lie some of the city’s burgeoning businesses, including a Bitcoin café and education center, a genetics clinic, and a scuba diving shop. Additionally, a delivery service for food and medical supplies is preparing to launch drone operations from this very rooftop.

Currently, there’s not an abundance of activity to observe, but the Delaware-based company that founded this experimental city in 2017 has successfully raised an impressive $120 million in investments. This funding comes from venture-capital firms supported by Silicon Valley billionaires such as Peter Thiel, Sam Altman, and Marc Andreessen, all aimed at transforming this territory—approximately twice the size of Monaco—into the most advanced start-up city in the world. Próspera operates within a semiautonomous jurisdiction known as a ZEDE (Zone for Employment and Economic Development), and it functions as a private, for-profit city, complete with its own government that actively attracts foreign investors through low taxation and minimal regulation. Businesses within Próspera have the flexibility to select their regulatory framework from a menu of options derived from 36 different countries or to create a custom set of rules that best suit their operations.

A California-based company provides Montessori-style education for around 60 students, while security is ensured by a private firm employing armed guards. Additionally, an arbitration center, staffed by three retired judges from Arizona, is available for dispute resolution. In order to enter this unique jurisdiction, I was informed that I would need to sign an “agreement of coexistence,” binding me to an extensive 4,202 pages of regulations, any violations of which would be subject to the authority of the arbitration center.

Jorge Colindres, the 31-year-old lawyer who would be considered Próspera’s mayor — if Próspera were a normal town.

Credit…Brian Finke for The New York Times