Some of the cities mentioned in this thread are too 'clean' to be cyberpunk. More like cyberpop. Look for cities that have large slums; the more populated the slums, the more likely it is to become cyberpunk, as the slums begin to stack on top one another. Bonus points if it's next to high rise skyscrapers in a densely packed area. Also, look at rapidly developing countries which are industrial & thus are very polluted. The destruction of the environment is a major trope in cyberpunk; places with lots of smog, terrible weather, rivers of trash, e-waste will definitely fit this.
Other tropes are the feeling of isolation in a densely packed area, orwellian surveillance and the 'sin city' factor, especially if it's open-air/ungoverned/state sanctioned.
Think the 7 sins:
Lust: escorts, massage parlors, love hotels, easy access p0rn, hypersexuality, gay bath houses, ladyboys
Gluttony: fast food, binge drinking, gold plated food, silver facials, excessive materialism/consooming
Greed: crypto, casinos/gambling, stock market, hustlers, gig economy, cash4gold, various scams, black market (silk road, organ harvesting),
Sloth: high automation, widespread apathy/nihilism, indifference to cruelty/bystander effect (watching people die, ignoring untouchables), promoting laziness
Wrath: war propaganda, political/ethnic/religious scapegoats blasted on media, eye 4 an eye mentality, cheering on violent/self-destructive behavior, sanctioned gangrapes, crimewave, gangs, police brutality, rudeness
Envy: sports cars, bling, expensive bags, photoshopped models, paradise packages, high rise condos next to slums, celebrities
Pride: social media, taking pride in degeneracy, ethno-narcissism, hyper-nationalism, religious zealots, promoting vanity
Which cities come to mind? Next time you re in a big city, look around for the 7 sins and tropes such as class disparity, pollution, industrialization, automation, overpopulation etc.
