There are already settlements in every place it makes sense to live. Any new city would have to be developed on the strength of some newly-discovered resource; what would that be, and why would you not simply expand whichever town already happens to exist nearby, instead of going to all the expense of starting from scratch?
Our highway system has enriched incumbent cities and created a nation of gas stations, inexpensive motels, restaurants that serve rapidly prepared food, tire salons, automobile dealerships, and billboards.
Let's build Hyperdrive City, Nebraska, where you can rent an apartment on the 93rd floor of the mall for $200 a month:
https://br.ifunny.co/picture/derek-eedrk-can-we-build-one-of...
Or one of these:
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/chengdu-future-city-design...
What is the motivation for a developer to build a 100 story (or at least 93 I guess) skyscraper in some empty field in Nebraska?
https://therealdeal.com/national/2024/01/28/who-is-real-esta...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legends_Tower
Or let's give Washington back to Maryland (like Alexandria to Virginia), move the federal district to Lincoln, and build a new Capitol to accommodate a House with representation more like 70k:1 than the current (abhorrent) 700k:1.