Africa's 'new cities': Urban future or utopian fantasies?

[ScienceRocks]

Africa's 'new cities': Urban future or utopian fantasies?


By Teo Kermeliotis, for CNN

May 30, 2013 -- Updated 0949 GMT (1749 HKT)

(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.

Africa's 'new cities': Urban future or utopian fantasies? - CNN.com

I'm really hoping they can be successful with this. The best thing Africa could do is build their wealth and make it easy for the poor to move into the middle class.