Constructed at great expense over the past decade, Myanmar's planned capital city of Naypyidaw boasts an empty 20-lane stretch of road. The city's real purpose may be to discourage regime change.
Myanmar's own "road to nowhere" was likely constructed for very different reasons than outsized, underutilized infrastructure elsewhere. The country's planned capital city, Naypyidaw, was built from nothing under the regime of former military leader Than Shwe. "The reasons the government chose to relocate the capital from Rangoon (the previous capital) to a patch of previously uninhabited jungle 200 miles north remains [sic] equally unclear."
Some have theorized that Naypyidaw's location and layout are a means to prevent violent regime change. "Some reports suggest that the nervous president overseeing the construction of this new capital [...] insisted on the giant boulevard so that it could act as a runway for planes in case of riots." By design, the city lacks the wide public squares that often act as spatial catalysts for revolutions and popular movements.
Naypyidaw looks impressive, but its wide thoroughfares are often completely empty of traffic. The place serves as an extreme example of how politics can dictate a city's shape.
FULL STORY: The Road through Naypyidaw
Reimagining the Space Beneath Houston’s Freeways
Opportunities abound for Houston to capitalize on otherwise unused space beneath its wide network of freeways.
Are freeway overpasses curtailing public discourse?
Freeway overpasses instead of town squares are now often selected as the preferred public space to promote a non-commercial point of view, but such messaging does little to enhance public discourse, writes planner and urbanist Howard Blackson.
Photos: In Over a Dozen Cities, Housing Activists Connect HUD Cuts and Local Issues
We share images from six of the cities around the country where members of three national organizing networks took action on May 20 to protest cuts to federal housing funding and lift up local solutions.
Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.
Tenant Advocates: Rent Gouging Rampant After LA Wildfires
The Rent Brigade says it's found evidence of thousands of likely instances of rent gouging. In some cases, the landlords accused of exploiting the fires had made campaign donations to those responsible for enforcement.
Seattle’s Upzoning Plan is Ambitious, Light on Details
The city passed a ‘bare-bones’ framework to comply with state housing laws that paves the way for more middle housing, but the debate over how and where to build is just getting started.
DOJ Seeks to End USDOT Affirmative Action Program
The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program encouraged contracting with minority- and women-owned businesses in the transportation sector, where these groups are vastly underrepresented.
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.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada