I feel they are 20-30 years too late. It seems like the winds have shifted. In the late 1990's to early 2000's, it really did seem like human conflict was win

I feel they are 20-30 years too late. It seems like the winds have shifted. In the late 1990's to early 2000's, it really did seem like human conflict was winding down and all the divisions/ideologies were slowly being subjected to "hey, let's all get along together and make a lot of money". You saw that with the EU, with China, NAFTA, etc. After the 2008 crash and with covid, it seems things are changing. People are no longer willing to let go of ideology just to make money. Nationalism is returning. Religious fundamentalism is returning (see Trump, Modi, Erdogan, Orban). Hong Kong was the ultimate "startup city" with a huge amount of autonomy, but that is going away, as China asserts control. My guess is that in this current environment, startup cities will breed a lot of resentment in the surrounding areas and serve as easy scapegoats (see for example the Blue cities in Red states where there is a lot of conflict about governance and who has prerogative).