State of the Union - November 2022
Welcome to the 2nd edition of the build_cities State of the Union for November, 2022. Each month we’ll cover what’s been built, what’s currently being built, and what plans to get built for the build_cities ecosystem. With a public beta in its 2nd month of operation, we have opened a live feedback mechanism for iterating much more rapidly towards a protocol for startup cities where any network in any city can grow their ecosystem supported by a global network of talent and capital. Let’s jump into how we inched a little bit closer this month.
Ecosystem Updates
build_cities enters IRL with joint farmland purchase led by CougarDAO
Most notable for the month of November was completing a proof-of-concept land purchase leveraging DeFi primitives. Led by CougarDAO, 8 members including build_cities formed an on-chain LLC facilitated by Kali DAO and isolated a property, conducted due diligence, and pooled crypto-native funds together to purchase an income-generating property compliantly. The LLC/DAO is be managed by COUG tokens which are non-transferrable and represent the ownership interest in the LLC which thereby owns the property. Title and property specs will be minted on TaterDAO.
This represents a major breakthrough in the evolution of crypto networks financing real world assets that are revenue-generating, time-proven, and carry practical use cases. Today it’s farmland, tomorrow it’s a diversified real estate portfolio, and in the not-so-distant future it’s new cities and public infrastructure. Our close partnerships with RWA operators in the crypto space will continue to isolate and acquire promising properties leveraging our network of networks and the expertise of RWA practitioners that jointly comprise the Real World Asset Consortium.
New web app updates
The online development build_guild was already able to ship several new updates to enhance the functionality and discoverability of the public beta.
- Added lightning fast search throughout all sections of the app
- New ability to swap out networks and wallets in the Edit Profile section
- Hong Kong added to cities directory
- Added “My Cities” filter to quickly narrow in on the cities you care about
- Structural backend changes for enhanced performance and scalability
- Added A-Z and Z-A filters for the network directory
- Multi-chain EVM support for NFT displays
Expanded closed beta for mobile app
We’ve just finished the acceptance criteria for the build mobile app which carries a distinct yet complementary feature set to the web app. The mobile app is designed to bootstrap innovation in any city around the world where you can find complementary skillsets to teach and learn in addition to finding collaborators for your project. Curious about programming? Want to build hardware? How about real estate development?
If you’re interested in joining the expanded private beta, simply fill out this form and we’ll get you an invite link via Testflight or Android.
New podcast feature
Chiwi Journal Host, novelist, and community lead Camellia Yang sits down with build_cities co-founder Angelo Alessio to discuss startup cities, network states, remote work and more.
On the Horizon
For December, build_cities will be releasing its “Claim Network” feature that will allow network members to verify their networks and associated details. Verified networks will have access to create their own profile and will be featured higher up in the directory to make them more discoverable for new prospects. Additionally, all network data will be verified on-chain making it composable for dApp developers to leverage the network directory.
Looking ahead to 2023 which focuses primarily on Phase I - Discover, build_cities will have four major releases outlined below. While the roadmap is subject to change, the real-time usage of the app has drastically clarified our roadmap and thereby the pace of iteration towards facilitating more startup cities around the globe.
If you’d like to understand more about where we’re at today and where we’re going tomorrow, build_cities founder Angelo Alessio will be hosting a live webinar on Wed. Dec 14th at 9:00 PM UTC. Additional times available upon request for various time zones. Registration link available here.
As 2022 comes to a close, we reflect and express our sincerest appreciation for the builders and advocates who’ve made this possible to date. And we’re beyond excited for what’s to come in 2023 in support of dreamers, creators, facilitators, and pioneers around the globe.
Remind me again, what is build_cities?
build_republic is a city-building studio to seed and scale full-stack startup cities in areas where little to no infrastructure may have existed before. The GDP of the internet does not have latitude and longitude coordinates and startup economies can now take shape anywhere with investment into the physical communities following close behind.
Get Involved
If you’re looking to get more involved with build_cities, here are the three primary ways to get started.
- Onboard into our public beta, explore the protocol, and provide any feedback you may have.
- Join the build_cities internal network and get involved through one of the nine build_guilds.
- If you are interested in investing directly, visit our investment portal to learn more about acquiring $BLDR.
Until next month, let’s all keep building together.
Onward.