Say the word, “planning,” and watch someone’s face morph: The term can conjure up a multitude of responses. Regardless of your own prejudices, some municipalities are discovering that good design can help sell a city—whether old and established or new as fresh paint.

Two Asian cities illustrate the principle and constitute textbook cases of their respective kinds. First, the newest. Songdo City, Korea, an eventual $35 billion, tower-filled new city is rising where nothing but seawater once existed. The planners’ precepts defied traditional expectations by standing certain ironclad real estate notions on their heads, such as retaining the most valuable land for revenue-producing purposes. They never envisioned the world’s economic slowdown, but nevertheless, the development continued.