To spur economic growth and improve livelihoods, countries often build new industries and infrastructure. Or, in some cases, entirely new cities.
Across the “global south,” a crop of megaproject, master-planned cities has been sprouting up as a way for countries to jolt their economies and attract greater foreign investment. It is a striking phenomenon that is currently catching on particularly in developing countries. The trend holds great potential for how urban areas can be planned and designed more efficiently. But so far, most instances of these planned cities still provide a cautionary tale of weak labor standards, environmental degradation and population displacement as countries consider new urban developments.
Those were the general findings of a team of urban geographers at McGill University in Montreal which has been studying new cities around the world. They coined the term “new cities” to specifically mean urban areas built on greenfield sites with the purpose of attracting business, investment and new residential areas. The team presented some of their key research findings on this trend at the first day of the Habitat III summit in Quito, Ecuador — the principal United Nations conference on housing and sustainable urbanization.
About the author
Naki B. Mendozamfbmendoza
Naki is a former reporter, he covered the intersection of business and international development. Prior to Devex he was a Latin America reporter for Energy Intelligence covering corporate investments and political risks in the region’s energy sector. His previous assignments abroad have posted him throughout Europe, South America, and Australia.
