I think stegosaurus's idea is that a sufficiently motivated government or billionaire could make that land attractive to urbanites. Cheap rent in high-rises + an art and cultural scene attracted by the low cost of living + planning the city around public transportation and bike/walkability rather than personal cars + fiber to the home/office = I'd happily live somewhere that would otherwise be considered the middle of nowhere due to "boring" or unpleasant geography.

Pretty far fetched, but if Elon Musk wants to build The City of Tomorrow, sign me up.

EDIT: stegosaurus, for some silly reason HN hides the reply link for the first few minutes after a post is made, but if you click the direct link to my post, you can reply anyway.