On July 4, fireworks will light up the National Mall, the grandest display in American history, or so the plan goes. Two hundred and fifty years of the American experiment, compressed into a single night of light and noise. A new poll, however, finds that only one in four Americans still believes their country stands above all others. The fireworks are being planned anyway.
I have spent years studying American cities, their bones, cracks and grand ambitions. As an urban engineer based in Chicago, what I see heading into this 250th anniversary is not a nation at its peak. It is a nation choosing spectacle over pavement.
Promises made, forgotten
On March 3, 2023, Donald Trump unveiled his vision in a campaign video: ten new "Freedom Cities" to be built on federal land by privately selected developers chosen through a national contest. Cities the size of Washington D.C., offering young Americans "a new shot at homeownership," new manufacturing hubs built from scratch, and, yes, flying cars. Trump said these cities would "reignite American imagination." The proposal rested on deregulation zones free from bureaucracy, rapid construction and private-sector-led urban renewal.
So where does the project stand today? According to PolitiFact's tracking report from February 2026, Trump has not mentioned "Freedom Cities" since 2023, when he first made the promise as a candidate. There is no legislation mentioning freedom cities anywhere in Congress.gov. The White House did not respond to questions about whether any progress had been made. Some think tanks continue drawing up conceptual blueprints, but no concrete steps have been taken.
