Gated communitys

[Quirinus]

Wait a minute, didn't Walt Disney set up the River Creek Improvement District in Florida? It is basically a district where the Disney corporation has the last word. I assume that's what the OP was referring to.

[TinCow]

I don't know anything about the "River Creek Improvement District" but it makes sense to me. There's no reason a corporation cannot buy a section of land and be given the authority (by the State and/or County) to regulate that property as they see fit. However, the ability of the corporation to regulate that property is still limited by the scope of State and Federal law. There is no possible way for them to change, for example, the (general) criminal laws that apply in their area. Murder is a crime under both Federal and State law. There is no place under US jurisdiction where murder is not a crime. Since Federal and State laws regulate almost every important aspect of life, about the most 'freedom' you would be able to get out of such a community would be control over your own local finances, local taxation, local statutory laws, and possibly some aspects of 'bigger' things like building codes, depending on the laws of the State you are in.

Even if you were to somehow able to get the State to grant you independence, so that you are not covered by State law, you would still be covered by Federal law. Federal law covers all US territory, from the actual USA itself, to territories, possessions, embassy property, and some cemeteries on foreign soil. The only places where Federal law has limited jurisdiction are US military bases, but even that is hazy at the moment. The issue of Federal jurisdiction over military bases is a major part of the Guantanamo controversy.

[TevashSzat]

Maybe you can do this if you buy some remote island and build an estate on it?

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Maybe you can do this if you buy some remote island and build an estate on it?

If the remote island is unclaimed, I don't think there's any reason you can't proclaim your own nation. If you can offer something to a major country or organization that's valuable, you could even get your country internationally recognized.

[HoreTore]

If the remote island is unclaimed, I don't think there's any reason you can't proclaim your own nation. If you can offer something to a major country or organization that's valuable, you could even get your country internationally recognized.

Are there any islands left who aren't claimed though? Even the arctic is claimed these days...

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Are there any islands left who aren't claimed though? Even the arctic is claimed these days...

There has to be something in the Pacific.

[KukriKhan]

There has to be something in the Pacific.

Not for Long, if global warming is true. Better get your bids in now.

It wouldn't take much of a rise in sea level to wash away island nations such as the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. Eighty percent of the Maldives are less than one meter above sea level. Several Pacific islands have already disappeared.

[Quirinus]

I don't know anything about the "River Creek Improvement District" but it makes sense to me. There's no reason a corporation cannot buy a section of land and be given the authority (by the State and/or County) to regulate that property as they see fit. However, the ability of the corporation to regulate that property is still limited by the scope of State and Federal law. There is no possible way for them to change, for example, the (general) criminal laws that apply in their area. Murder is a crime under both Federal and State law. There is no place under US jurisdiction where murder is not a crime. Since Federal and State laws regulate almost every important aspect of life, about the most 'freedom' you would be able to get out of such a community would be control over your own local finances, local taxation, local statutory laws, and possibly some aspects of 'bigger' things like building codes, depending on the laws of the State you are in.

Even if you were to somehow able to get the State to grant you independence, so that you are not covered by State law, you would still be covered by Federal law. Federal law covers all US territory, from the actual USA itself, to territories, possessions, embassy property, and some cemeteries on foreign soil. The only places where Federal law has limited jurisdiction are US military bases, but even that is hazy at the moment. The issue of Federal jurisdiction over military bases is a major part of the Guantanamo controversy.

Whoops. It's actually called the Reedy Creek Improvement District. Well, here is what Wikipedia says about it:

The Improvement District has far-reaching powers. Through the District, Disney could construct almost anything within its borders, including a nuclear power plant (which it never built, opting instead for a more traditional plant that supplements power from outside of the District). The District, as with any municipal corporation, can issue tax-free bonds for internal improvements. [....] In addition to the power of eminent domain outside the District, the one other power that the District was given (that it would not have had if it were simply the two Cities) was an exemption to state zoning and land use laws.