Zuzalu Story

Why is Zuzalu such a recurring theme among Chiang Mai’s pop-up cities?

For newcomers in Pop-up City, the term 'Zuzalu' might come up frequently. But what is Zuzalu? Why are so many Pop-up Cities gathering in Chiang Mai, and how is Zuzalu connected to them?

What is Zuzalu?

"Zuzalu" was a unique event held just once, from March 25 to May 25, 2023, in Lustica Bay, Tivat, Montenegro.

Billed as a "Pop-up City", Zuzalu gathered 200 participants from different fields and regions, providing a two-month communal living space. Its mission was to blend diverse cultures, fostering an environment for innovation and experimentation aimed at making a positive global impact.

How Did Zuzalu Start?

Zuzalu’s origins can be traced to two foundational writings by Vitalik Buterin: Crypto Cities from October 2021 and his July 2022 analysis of the Network State. In August 2022, an invitation from Nicole Sun to join a Korean Hacker House planted the initial seed for Zuzalu. A year later, Vitalik reflected on this moment in his essay The End of My Childhood. Then in October 2022, a chance breakfast encounter with Nicole at Devcon in Bogotá led to their idea for a larger, more enduring Hacker House model. Follow-up online meetings soon solidified the concept—an experimental pop-up city named Zuzalu.

Zuzalu? A quirky name

"Zuzalu" is a made-up word coined by V and was chosen simply for fun—it carries no specific meaning.

How Does a New City Start from Zero and Attract Its First Residents?

Zuzalu’s deployment officially launched in January 2023. A team of four began by scouting locations, ultimately selecting a resort in Montenegro as the site. With the location confirmed, they initiated the recruitment of residents. Residents and visitors to Zuzalu come from three primary channels:

First,the initial resident invitations

Zuzalu’s foundation involved personally inviting an initial group of about a dozen residents, who then extended invitations to others, building the community from its core.

Second, a structured schedule with themed weeks

Zuzalu operates on a planned weekly schedule that centers around specific themes, drawing guests relevant to each theme.

Third, social media-driven word-of-mouth

positive experiences and social media visibility have generated organic interest, leading to a flow of visitors.

On March 25, 2023, Zuzalu held its opening ceremony. Over the following two months, it became home to 300 long-term residents and hosted an additional 700 visitors in Montenegro. This was Zuzalu 1.0—a notable success that left everyone eager for a Zuzalu 2.0. However, as it turns out, there is no "Zuzalu" event scheduled for 2024, and it appears Zuzalu 2.0 won’t be happening after all.

Did Zuzalu disappear?

Throughout 2024, Zuzalu 2.0 remained active but in a newly decentralized form. This shift traces back to June 2023, when the Zuzalu Montenegro event concluded and planning began for Zuzalu 2.0. During this phase, internal disagreements emerged, sparking political challenges that intensified at Zuconnect in November 2023, particularly around Vitalik.

In December 2023, Vitalik addressed the internal conflict by proposing “reopen the frontier” detailed in his forum post, “Zuzalu 2024 Proposal: Decentralize It.” Under this new framework, Zuzalu in 2024 would depart from the traditional two-month, centralized “Pop-up City” with 300 residents (as seen with Zuzalu Montenegro) and, instead, encourage funding for independent, smaller communities and events. Each community would be self-managing, promoting collaboration and knowledge-sharing without reliance on a single coordinating team.

Zuzalu 2.0: The New Era of Pop-up Cities

The Zuzalu 2.0 era began in 2024, when Vitalik allocated a total of 500 ETH across two Gitcoin funding rounds to support Zuzalu-themed events and technical infrastructure. In this year, every Pop-up City event either had organizers from Zuzalu or received direct grant from Zuzalu.

Pop-up Cities inspired by Zuzalu are now appearing globally, almost monthly, though they remain highly decentralized. A notable exception occurred in Chiang Mai, where, in October and November, nine long-term Pop-up Cities ran concurrently. Following the success of Chiang Mai's Pop-up Season, the number of side events continues to rise.

One-sentence version:

Edge City: Supported by Zuzalu grant. Edge City’s founder, Janine Leger, was one of four team members of Zuzalu Montenegro; in November 2023, she organized Zuconnect.

Funding The Commons: Supported by Zuzalu grant. The Funding The Commons team was among Zuzalu’s residents and conducted an experiment using Hypercerts at Zuzalu. In September 2023, they launched a residency project in Berlin.

Invisible Garden: Supported by Zuzalu grant. Organizer Leo spent several weeks at Zuzalu.

Lovepunks: Supported by Zuzalu grant. Organizer Maru was a resident of Zuzalu.

The Mu: Supported by Zuzalu grant. Inspired by Zuzalu, organizer Sun launched the first edition of The Mu in September 2023.

MEGAZu: Organizer Bingxiong was a resident of Zuzalu.

ShanhaiWoo: Supported by Zuzalu grant. Audrey Tang, one of the organizers, visited Zuzalu in its final week and, upon her return to China, collaborated with like-minded partners to plan ShanhaiWoo. The inaugural event took place in northeast China in August 2023.

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