Ipê Village - Prototyping a New City Governance
Join us to co-create Brazil's first pop-up city
TLDR: we are organizing Brazil’s first pop-up city, a one-month coliving and co-creation space to prototype solutions for the city of the future, including its governance system, by leveraging digital and decentralized technologies.
Check out the Full Presentation Deck.
Read our Documentation.
Join us at ipe.city/popup.
Over the last year, I’ve been deeply focused on the rise of the startup society ecosystem worldwide.
I moved to Prospera City, collaborated with the Vitalia pop-up city, worked with Balaji Srinivasan in Singapore for two months, and produced the first episode of a docuseries focused on the innovative wave of startup societies that are developing new cities and governance models—The Network Society (available now on X and YouTube).
Now, it’s time to bring this movement to Brazil and bridge it with an international network of visionaries to generate social and economic progress, reduce bureaucracy, and unlock decades of tech innovation kept outside of the governance system.
Prototyping The Governance of a New City
Next year we’ll host Brazil’s first pop-up city, Ipê Village, a one-month coliving and co-creation space that will bring together 150 talents to prototype a new city and its governance system, leveraging digital and decentralized technologies.
The event will be held between April 22nd and May 22nd in Florianópolis, Jurerê International.
We’ll select creators, engineers, and entrepreneurs to reimagine the city of the future and experiment with solutions for governance, finance, education, health, and public safety, which we call parallel institutions.
Why Is It Important?
It’s 2025, rockets are landing, we're chatting daily with super-intelligent AIs, and yet, despite an astonishing annual budget in the trillions, our government remains incapable of delivering basic infrastructure and public services.
And there’s a reason for this: it’s nearly impossible—and in most cases illegal—to create a parallel system to compete with the established one. You can’t build a parallel legal system, a new governance framework, an alternative education structure, a parallel central bank, an alternative monetary policy, and so on.
However, the rise of the Internet and blockchains has changed that. Now, we can build parallel institutions and bring innovation to this space to address longstanding societal challenges.
Startups have already created new companies, media, communities, and even new currencies.
Could they also build new cities and governance systems?
We believe they can.
Our Vision
We envision a future where democracy and governance rest on open, decentralized technologies, built by agile, startup-like institutions.
This isn't just a vision for the future—it's already unfolding worldwide. Here are some examples of what we'll feature, bring to, and develop in Brazil.
Democratizing universal, free, world-class education and healthcare for every child through Artificial Intelligence;
Transforming slums into digital villages, like Gerando Falcões' Favela3D;
Providing economic and financial inclusion for every excluded person worldwide via open blockchains;
Bringing public administration to your smartphone — track spending and participate in real-time decision-making;
Using open-source and peer-to-peer technologies to create new systems for collective action and coordination;
Exploring new frontiers, such as special economic zones and network states;
Enhancing community and family safety with autonomous robots and privacy technologies;
Leveraging open-source sensors to maintain a clean and sustainable environment;
How To Collaborate?
We are seeking exceptional city builders from Brazil and worldwide who are committed to prototyping a new city governance system using AI, crypto, and other emerging technologies.
By contributing, in addition to building knowledge, experience, and a rich network, you will also earn on-chain credentials, grants, tokens, and additional rewards.
Everyone who attends will receive a credential as an Ipê Netizen. However, those committed to joining the community and working on prototypes or building their startups for 3+ weeks will be granted the special role of Ipê Architect. If you stay for more than 5 days to engage with the projects and connect with the community, you will receive the role of Ipê Explorer.
How Will Ipê Village Work?
Ipê Village is a temporary conceptual small city where you are going to live and participate in innovative projects.
The event will take place in a area within Jurere International, Florianópolis, featuring coworking spaces, hotels, Airbnbs, restaurants, and local services to support the community's accommodation, food, and other needs.
A few notes about the experience:
If you are an Ipê Architect (3-week builder netizen), we’ll require weekly progress of your project, and in the last week, present your results to the city residents, partners, and investors
Every Ipê Netizen will be able to apply for grants for projects and content.
There will be an open calendar to organize your own events, such as meetups, workshops, barbecues, parties, workouts, tourism, and more.
During your stay, you’ll be able to continue working remotely at your regular job while participating in popup activities during your free time.
What we expect from Netizens and Architects:
Choose the tracks you are most interested in and develop projects or prototypes as solutions.
Be willing to pitch your ideas in open mics and showcase your results on demo days
Pro-activelly organize meetups, design sprint sessions, workshops, parties and any event you consider will bring value to the community.
Share ideas, code, and content openly with the community
Help to recruit aligned talented members to contribute to the community
Follow the community guidelines, respect people’s opinions and always engage in good faith while debating with people.
Pre-register Now And Join Hundreds of Builder
We already reached +150 pre-registrations. Those people will have access to special prices and be prioritezed in the Application Process that we’ll send soon.
That the steps to be part of the pop-up.
1️⃣ Pre-register
Go to ipe.city/popup and pre-register, filling out your social media and mini bio.
2️⃣ Application Process (soon)
You will receive the Application Process in your email within a few days. Read carefully, fill it out, and wait for the result.
3️⃣ Ipê Passport
Once approved, choose an Ipê Passport option and finish the payment process (prices and packages soon). If you need financial support, you can mark the option and we’ll get in touch to offer a few kinds of scholarships.
4️⃣ Join Ipê Discord
You will be granted access to Ipê Village channels on our Discord Server to connect with other netizens.
5️⃣ Book Your Stay
Residents are responsible for hosting, but we'll share a list of discounted hotels and Airbnbs and help match those interested in sharing a room or house.
6️⃣ You Are All Set Up!
Now, reserve your flight if needed, and be ready to build a new city.
Join us on our Discord Server and stay tuned for more details soon.