Loki
09-24-2013, 01:04 AM
Africa's 'new cities': Urban future or utopian fantasies? (http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/30/business/africa-new-cities-konza-eko/)
(CNN) -- Gleaming skyscrapers towering over upwardly mobile professionals and flashy cars cruising along brightly lit avenues; young urbanites zipping past manicured lawns to enter their luxury condos; state-of-the-art labs fostering tech savvy entrepreneurs' million-dollar ideas.
A glimpse of Africa's urban future or utopian fantasies?
The jury might still be out, but these are the snapshots of urban life being touted by international property developers who are announcing plans for new satellite cities and vast modern compounds across Africa.
They are usually planned to be built from scratch on the edges of the continent's existing metropolises, many of which are creaking under the weight of growing populations and rapid urbanization rates.
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130527172124-konza-city-africa-urban-future-horizontal-gallery.jpg
Large-scale urban developments are being planned across Africa. One of them is Konza Technology City, a major technology hub designed to foster Kenya's ICT growth.
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130527172624-king-city-africa-urban-future-horizontal-gallery.jpg
Spanning some 2,000 acres on the outskirts of the twin cities of Sekondi-Takoradi in Ghana, King City is designed to be a mixed-use development with about 25,000 homes.
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130528170943-eko-atlantic-city-design-concept-horizontal-gallery.jpg
Eko Atlantic (Nigeria) is intended to be Africa's first modern smart city to be developed on reclaimed land from the Atlantic Ocean. The new city is expected to provide accommodation for 250,000 people and employment opportunities for a further 150,000.
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130527173525-tatu-city-africa-urban-future-horizontal-gallery.jpg
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130527173712-tatu-city-pedestrian-africa-urban-future-horizontal-gallery.jpg
Tatu City, some 15 kilometers north of Nairobi, is being developed by Rendeavour, the urban development branch of Moscow-based Renaissance Group, which is also responsible for several other projects across Africa. The satellite city, whose construction is expected to be completed in 2022, is designed to accommodate about 77,000 people.
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130318100618-hope-city-1-horizontal-gallery.jpg
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130318101103-hope-city-5-horizontal-gallery.jpg
Hope City is an ambitious tech project that aims to turn Ghana into a major ICT hub in West Africa. It will include an assembly plant , an IT university and a hospital, as well as housing and recreation spaces. Designed by Italian firm Architect OBR, Hope City will be made up of six towers of different dimensions, including a 75-story, 270 meter-high building that is expected to be the highest in Africa.
(CNN) -- Gleaming skyscrapers towering over upwardly mobile professionals and flashy cars cruising along brightly lit avenues; young urbanites zipping past manicured lawns to enter their luxury condos; state-of-the-art labs fostering tech savvy entrepreneurs' million-dollar ideas.
A glimpse of Africa's urban future or utopian fantasies?
The jury might still be out, but these are the snapshots of urban life being touted by international property developers who are announcing plans for new satellite cities and vast modern compounds across Africa.
They are usually planned to be built from scratch on the edges of the continent's existing metropolises, many of which are creaking under the weight of growing populations and rapid urbanization rates.
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130527172124-konza-city-africa-urban-future-horizontal-gallery.jpg
Large-scale urban developments are being planned across Africa. One of them is Konza Technology City, a major technology hub designed to foster Kenya's ICT growth.
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130527172624-king-city-africa-urban-future-horizontal-gallery.jpg
Spanning some 2,000 acres on the outskirts of the twin cities of Sekondi-Takoradi in Ghana, King City is designed to be a mixed-use development with about 25,000 homes.
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130528170943-eko-atlantic-city-design-concept-horizontal-gallery.jpg
Eko Atlantic (Nigeria) is intended to be Africa's first modern smart city to be developed on reclaimed land from the Atlantic Ocean. The new city is expected to provide accommodation for 250,000 people and employment opportunities for a further 150,000.
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130527173525-tatu-city-africa-urban-future-horizontal-gallery.jpg
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130527173712-tatu-city-pedestrian-africa-urban-future-horizontal-gallery.jpg
Tatu City, some 15 kilometers north of Nairobi, is being developed by Rendeavour, the urban development branch of Moscow-based Renaissance Group, which is also responsible for several other projects across Africa. The satellite city, whose construction is expected to be completed in 2022, is designed to accommodate about 77,000 people.
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130318100618-hope-city-1-horizontal-gallery.jpg
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130318101103-hope-city-5-horizontal-gallery.jpg
Hope City is an ambitious tech project that aims to turn Ghana into a major ICT hub in West Africa. It will include an assembly plant , an IT university and a hospital, as well as housing and recreation spaces. Designed by Italian firm Architect OBR, Hope City will be made up of six towers of different dimensions, including a 75-story, 270 meter-high building that is expected to be the highest in Africa.