Timour Kosters I How Developers Shape the Future of Cities with Edge City I Pragma Bangkok 2024

Thu, Oct 2, 2025, 12:00 AM

Discover how developers and innovators are experimenting with pop-up cities, network states, and IRL gatherings in this enlightening conversation with Timour Kosters, co-founder of Edge City. Learn how multidisciplinary communities (spanning crypto, AI, biotech, governance, and more) come together to build new societal prototypes, test frontier technologies, and spark collaborative innovation. Timour explains the logistics behind popup villages, the benefits for founders and builders, and why these experimental city-building events could shape the future of urban living and community design. Key topics include: • How Edge City brings 500–1,000 people together for a month-long pop-up city • The impact of IRL experimentation on Ethereum, ZK tech, and decentralized identity • Multidisciplinary approach: bridging AI, biotech, crypto, and public governance • Residencies for teams (e.g., ZK email, DeSoc, etc.) to test products in a live environment • Lessons learned from Zuzalu, Edge City Denver, Esmeralda, and Lana • Future plans for global pop-up cities in California, Bhutan, and beyond Don’t miss Timour’s insights on how these gatherings accelerate frontier innovation, community building, and the evolution of modern cities. 00:00 Intro & Timour Kosters Welcome 00:48 Defining Pop-Up Cities & Network States 01:22 Edge City Lana Success & Community Impact 02:25 Experimenting with IRL Prototypes 03:33 From Zuzalu to Edge City: Early Inspiration 04:07 Vitalik, AI Tracks & Burning Man Moments 05:17 Evolution of Edge City Events 05:49 Esmeralda & Accelerating New Town Projects 07:30 Pop-Up Cities in Chiang Mai & Argentina 08:44 How the Logistics of Pop-Up Villages Work 09:19 Transforming Existing Towns into Live Labs 09:55 High-Agency Builders & Community Vibes 11:01 Workshop & Residency Structure 12:13 Community-Created Programming & Tracks 12:51 Post-Pop-Up City Impact & Returns 14:30 Bridging Crypto, AI, & Biotech Innovators 15:06 Real-Time Product Testing & ZK Tech 16:43 Deep Work Residencies & Demo Nights 17:17 Building a Bridge to Frontier Industries 17:53 What’s Next: California & Bhutan Plans 19:33 A New Environment for Societal Ideas _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎤 *Pragma Bankgkok* Pragma Bangkok 2024 closed out a year of exceptional Pragma events held around the world, and offered the global Web3 community a chance to hear from founders and builders as they reflect on the past, and look to the future of Web3. Pragma Bangkok 2024 was held on November 14th at the Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit in Bangkok, Thailand. Watch the full YouTube Playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh4JNkhnsv5F95OqxT_IjCEl&si=6Tv3CvB6vrQIIjBA ETHGlobal's Pragma series, which began in Tokyo in the spring of 2023, has been fostering a curated, global community of individuals who deeply care about web3. You can learn more about Pragma and upcoming events in the series here: https://ethglobal.com/pragma _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Timour Kosters X: https://x.com/timourxyz ✅ Follow Edge City X: https://x.com/joinedgecity Website: https://www.edgecity.live/lanna ✅ Follow Kartik Talwar X: https://x.com/therealkartik Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/kartik ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _