Have you considered revitalizing depressed cities rather than building new ones? There are a lot of once thriving cities that became depressed due to lost industries/jobs. Building out a tech hub and bringing in tech jobs/workers into these cities could bring new life to them.
Maybe YC should talk with the founder of Zappos, Tony Hsieh. (They probably have already for all I know.)
He's investing millions into the old Downtown area of Las Vegas in an effort to transform that part of the city's economy. Not sure how it's turning out. Maybe YC should just add themselves to that effort.
