Cities of the future

Fast forward: Cities of the future

We look at plans for four new cities of varying ambition that could be welcoming their first residents at some point in the near – or slightly more distant – future

T

he allure of creating a new city is strong. To the visionary, they are blank canvases that offer up the tantalising prospect of economic regeneration, investment opportunities, social engineering, technological advancement, low-carbon master planning, legacy building, and even the fulfilment of political or ideological aspirations. Dr Sarah Moser of the New Cities Lab at McGill University in Canada estimates that 150 new urban hubs (albeit some less likely to ever be delivered than others) in 40 countries are on the drawing board, with Bitcoin City, located at the foot of a volcano in El Salvador and funded by Bitcoin bonds, the latest to join the list. Our four picks shine a light on this brave new urban world...

MOOIKLOOF MEGA CITY, SOUTH AFRICA

East of Pretoria, at Tshwane in Gauteng Province, this 86 billion rand (US$5 billion) public-private development, masterplanned by Balwin Properties, is expected to be a housing game-changer in more ways than one. Unveiled in 2020 by President Cyril Ramaphosa, the city is set to be the world’s largest part-ownership residential property development. It has also been designated as one of South Africa’s state-led strategic integrated developments aimed at ensuring inclusive housing for all, as well as having strong green credentials.

Spanning over 200 hectares, plans include more than 50,000 residential units plus educational and healthcare facilities, retail and commercial real estate. Mooikloof is expected to create around 41,000 jobs and will offer lifestyle services such as outdoor gyms and sports facilities that have previously been inaccessible to those in lower-income groups – a first for South Africa.

TELOSA, SOMEWHERE IN THE US

Designed by Danish architecture studio BIG, Telosa is the futuristic vision of billionaire and former Walmart executive Marc Lore who wants to create a new community-owned city based on a reformed version of capitalism that he calls equitism. He describes the concept as “a new model for society, where wealth is created in a fair way. It’s not burdening the wealthy; it’s not increasing taxes. It is simply giving back to the citizens and the people the wealth that they helped create”.

As yet, the location of Telosa is undecided, but potential sites include cheap desert areas in Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Texas or the Appalachian Mountains. Eventually, it is hoped that the city, which will focus on community and sustainability with no fossilfuelled vehicles allowed and a circularity-based ethos, will be home to 5 million people.

Oxagon, the floating logistics hub that is part of Saudi Arabia’s NEOM project HEAR FROM DR SARAH MOSER ON WHAT MAKES A SUCCESSFUL CITY OF THE FUTURE

NEOM, SAUDI ARABIA

Billed as the world’s most innovative, technologically sophisticated and sustainable city, this US$500 billion masterplanned greenfield mega-city in Saudi Arabia’s north-west forms part of a broader commitment by the government to diversify the kingdom’s economy away from oil. Vision 2030, unveiled as part of a National Transformation Plan in 2016, has so far unleashed almost US$1 trillion of real estate and infrastructure projects.

NEOM aims to set a new benchmark for the development and planning of cities. Spread across almost 30,000 sq km of virgin land, plans include more than 200,000 residential units, 1–2 million sq m of office space, a giant floating fully automated port and logistics hub on the Red Sea called Oxagon, and up to 80,000 hotel rooms. NEOM is expected to be completed by 2030, in time for the Kingdom’s 100th birthday.

DUBAI 3.0, MARS

While the official name of the UAE’s planned city on Mars is yet to be confirmed, it seems appropriate that the first human settlement on another planet is named after a city that has risen from near obscurity 50 years ago to a cosmopolitan global gateway city today.

Plans for the Martian settlement are expected to be realised by 2117, shortly before the UAE’s sesquicentennial anniversary. The UAE’s ambition for our nearest habitable planetary neighbour has its roots in a broader transformation. As the economy evolves into one that relies more on human capital than fossil fuels, aerospace has emerged as a key focal point for the government. Indeed, in February 2021, the UAE became the first Arab nation and only the third country behind China and the US to successfully deploy a probe (Hope) around Mars.

To prepare would-be Martian colonists, a US$140 million Mars-like habitat is being built in Dubai’s Academic City area.

CHAPTER FIVE

Passions

Enter the universe of the world’s most passionate collectors

PASSION PLAY

84 The hottest luxury investment sectors in 2021

BEST SELLERS

88 Last year’s weird and wonderful auction house winners

SAVING NEMO

90 One woman’s quest to protect a unique coral archipelago

SAILING INTO THE METAWAVES

94 Fast forward: superyachts of the future