The cities of the future are here—or, at least, in the works. From Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s dreams of Neom, a $500 billion planned city, to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ambitions for the city of Xiongan, which he calls his “personal initiative,” so-called smart cities are being built from the ground up, to considerable global skepticism.

In this edition of Flash Points, we explore how cities, new and old, provide glimpses into global leaders’ ambitions and how they’re changing as the surveillance state expands, urban populations grow, and local governments become increasingly important to state-level diplomacy.—Chloe Hadavas

China’s Futuristic City Is a Test of Its Planning Power

Xiongan is a window into Xi Jinping’s ambitions, Andrew Stokols writes.

Mohammed bin Salman’s Bloody Dream City of Neom

Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion planned high-tech city involves forced evictions and vague promises of compensation, Sarah Leah Whitson and Abdullah Alaoudh write.

Cities Will Determine the Future of Diplomacy

Urban centers are taking international relations into their own hands, Nina Hachigian writes.

‘Smart’ Cities Are Surveilled Cities

When everyone and everything is connected, the door is open to all kinds of digital threats, Robert Muggah and Greg Walton write.

The Future of Development Is Local

To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, the world will have to shift its thinking from the national toward the urban, Xavier Michon and Jaffer Machano write.