There are somewhere between聽110 and 150 new cities being planned in the world at the moment, predominantly in the global south. These new cities are promoted as clean, safe and "green" developments that will help leap-frog economies, solve important urban planning聽challenges such as housing shortages and urban sprawl, and provide strategies for climate change adaptation. They also help countries聽rebrand themselves, are important investment vehicles and are even viewed as potential catalysts for social change. These cities, however, may not be as accessible, inclusive, and environmentally sustainable as they purport and many appear to be stalled at the planning stage, with over 50% of planned cities not yet having broken ground.
In this talk, Prof. Sarah Moser presents an overview of her extensive research into these planned cities and elaborates on the social, economic and environmental considerations聽of these projects. She provides an in-depth look at three cities in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. You can watch her full talk below.
Prof. Moser聽(Assistant Professor, Department of Geography)聽leads the 聽at 91社区. Her research explores the Cultural Politics, Geopolitics, and Social Impacts of new master-planned Cities and Urban mega-developments in emerging economies. Dr. Moser is particularly interested in how new cities are strategies for nation-building and transitioning economies. She has published articles on new cities in Malaysia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates and is currently co-editing The Research Handbook on Asian Cities (Edward Elgar, 2018) and working on a forthcoming book, The Atlas of New Cities.
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