City-sized condominium

[mackler]

Usually when there are enough people living in a particular unincorporated area, they incorporate a city government to do the things they think the government needs to do.

Condominiums are usually one building.  The units are private areas with a single owner, and the hallways and yards are common areas owned by the condominium.  But I don't see any reason why a condominium couldn't be the size of a city.  Each lot would be a private area, and the streets would be common areas.

Or, another way to do it would be to have a number--maybe a dozen--of geographically contiguous condominiums that together are the size of a whole city.

Has anyone considered this before?

[Lasse]

I think this is how Orania was created. The entire city is private property, owned collectively, and that way they can run it more independently than a regular town. It would seem they are applying community laws that would have the ACLU up in arms, yet noone interferes.

In December 1990, about 40 Afrikaner families, headed by Carel Boshoff, the son-in-law of former South African prime minister Hendrik Verwoerd, bought the dilapidated town for around US$200 000. This was a few months after the repeal of apartheid laws and the release of Nelson Mandela from prison. The town is privately owned by the Vluytjeskraal Aandeleblok ("literally: whistle corral share block") company, and the town is managed by it. The name "Vluytjeskraal" derives from the name of the farm on which the town was founded, and the "Aandeleblok" refers to a certain type of company, allowing people to buy shares in the company and obtaining the right to stay on and work a piece of ground within the property of the company. The shareholders thus own the company, which in turn owns the property. The chairman of this company, Dr Manie Opperman, acts as de facto mayor. The town was bought from the Department of Water Affairs, which built the town for the workers building a canal network utilising the water in the Orange river, when the project was completed.

I'm not sure exactly how this would apply in the U.S. or how exactly they're running it, though.

[error]

Virtually every square inch of New Hampshire is claimed by some town or another. There are no habitable unincorporated areas, as far as I know.

[Lloyd Danforth]

Some condominium  associations  are worse than the government

[J’raxis 270145]

Virtually every square inch of New Hampshire is claimed by some town or another. There are no habitable unincorporated areas, as far as I know.

These places are called "unincorporated" but then it goes on as describing them as not having "any formally organized municipal government, but rather [they] are within the political jurisdiction of other municipalities." So if people are looking for truly unincorporated areas, don't let that list fool you.

[KBCraig]

Unincorporated places fall under the county's planning board. County zoning can be worse than town zoning.

[mackler]

Virtually every square inch of New Hampshire is claimed by some town or another. There are no habitable unincorporated areas, as far as I know.

These places are called "unincorporated" but then it goes on as describing them as not having "any formally organized municipal government, but rather [they] are within the political jurisdiction of other municipalities." So if people are looking for truly unincorporated areas, don't let that list fool you.

I'll bet some of these unincorporated areas consist of three or four farms.  It's entirely conceivable that a handful of people could acquire the entire area.

[KBCraig]

I'll bet some of these unincorporated areas consist of three or four farms.  It's entirely conceivable that a handful of people could acquire the entire area.

Some of them are owned entirely by either the state or federal government -- places like Mount Washington, and White Mountain National Forest. Other consist mostly of timber lands owned by 1 or 2 large landholders.

[David]

I've thought of this before. 

Some condominium  associations  are worse than the government

True, but not all. 
The biggest advantage is that it is all privately owned. 
Imagine for a moment a 'city' of about 20 or so house holds all or most doing a protest similar to what Lauren Canario was doing in new london, in a county with only a handful of cops and state police.  This could be done using methods of nonviolent resistance, so when it is over, we will still be at relative peace with our neighbors, rather than virtual war in which we would be exterminated. 
We would not need licences, except those willing to deal with infrequent police harrasment.  Ship raw goods in, make something, sell it back out, all using third party shippers.  It would be much easier to defy the zoning nazis because they would be unable to casually drive by to spy on you. 

[David]

See city of non agression and getto anarchy.  similar discussion topices