Download full text
(external source)
Citation Suggestion
Please use the following Persistent Identifier (PID) to cite this document:
https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v5i2.2989
Exports for your reference manager
Digital Visualisation as a New Driver of Urban Change in Africa
[journal article]
Abstract Cities in Sub-Saharan Africa are growing faster than in any other part of the world, driven by expanding informal settlement (usually on the urban periphery) and the real-estate sector aiming for up-market property development. The continent currently has the highest real-estate value growth potenti... view more
Cities in Sub-Saharan Africa are growing faster than in any other part of the world, driven by expanding informal settlement (usually on the urban periphery) and the real-estate sector aiming for up-market property development. The continent currently has the highest real-estate value growth potential in the world. Much up-market property development is currently taking the form of new 'cities' - sometimes a redevelopment of an entire city (e.g., Kigali), sometimes a new city on an urban edge (e.g., Eko-Atlantic, Lagos) and sometimes a new satellite city (e.g., Tatu City, Nairobi). These projects are driven by international property development companies often in collaboration with governments and sometimes with local planning and property partners. All manifest as plans in a new way: as graphics on the websites of international consultants. Most involve no public participation and attempt to by-pass planning laws and processes. Producing these new plans (as computer generated images) are a new set of professionals: architects, planners, visualisers, advertising executives and project managers, working together in offices in global capitals of the world. Their aim is commercial. Planning in these projects is no longer shaped by the materiality of the city and attempts to achieve socio-spatial justice and sustainability. Rather planning is shaped by the circulation of graphics through a network of software programmes and marketing professionals. This article will situate Africa’s new cities in theorisation of urban development and the role of urban planning through digital visualization.... view less
Keywords
Africa South of the Sahara; urban development; urban planning; visualization; digitalization
Classification
Area Development Planning, Regional Research
Free Keywords
property development; urban inequality
Document language
English
Publication Year
2020
Page/Pages
p. 35-43
Journal
Urban Planning, 5 (2020) 2
Issue topic
Visual Communication in Urban Design and Planning: The Impact of Mediatisation(s) on the Construction of Urban Futures
ISSN
2183-7635
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed