Jane Lumumba issues a warning about the self-contained cities being comprehensively planned and built from scratch across the continent. Will they benefit international investors and government leaders to the detriment of local residents?
Lumumba, a Nairobi-based urban practitioner, examines the 'New City' projects being planned for the periphery of several older African cities, which are being designed as "relatively self-contained communities" that will "meet their own residential, commercial, industrial and retail needs."
"Nairobi will soon welcome Konza, already being hailed as Africa’s Silicon Valley, and Tatu City, a $2.8 billion USD project located just off the region’s new Thika Super-Highway. Just outside of Accra, Appolonia, nicknamed the “City of Light,” is a planned, mixed-use city that broke ground last year and is conceptualized as a 'work-live-play' community. Lagos is eyeing the construction of Eko Atlantic, a city for 400,000 built on land reclaimed from the ocean. And Lusaka, Zambia is welcoming Roma Park, a residential and commercial development being built on 118 hectares of greenfield."
"What is worrying is that there is little recognition of place, economy, context and even poverty in these cities," observes Lumumba. "This begs several questions. To whom do these cities belong? Who is planning them? Are they inclusive cities, or simply profit-driven businesses?"
The story of Angola's Nova Cidade de Kilamba, a new city built by a state-owned Chinese investment company that largely sits empty, is a cautionary tale.
FULL STORY: Why Africa Should Be Wary of Its ‘New Cities’
India Looks to Build 11-Million-Person City on Empty Farm Land
Andhra Pradesh is being split in two, and India is building a new capital for the portion of the state that will keep the Andhra name. The city will reside on what was banana fields and other farmland.
Y Combinator's New Cities Project Gets Curiouser and Curiouser
The Silicon Valley start-up devoted to reinventing the city made a splashy hire this week.
Egypt's New Capital City Development Gets Chinese Backing
Plans for the development of a new, unnamed capital city just east of Cairo has received the financial backing of Chinese investors.
The Complexities of the '15-Minute City'
What does a '15-minute city' truly mean–and how achievable is it in the U.S.?
Does Highway Removal Make Cities Healthier?
Highway removal can improve the air quality and health of the immediate environment, but displacement and gentrification threaten to exclude former residents from the benefits.
Tree Equity Score: The U.S. Needs 522 Million More Urban Trees
As climate change intensifies the urban heat island effect, poorer neighborhoods bear the brunt of tree canopy inequity.
National Development Council (NDC)
Solomon Cordwell Buenz
County of Sonoma
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Salinas
Village of Park Forest
Mid Valley Partners
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Hand Drawing Master Plans
This course aims to provide an introduction into Urban Design Sketching focused on how to hand draw master plans using a mix of colored markers.
