The construction of new cities is booming worldwide. In the last 20 years, up to 91 new urban developments have been announced. Many of these are rationally planned megalopolises, built from scratch, with the ambitious aim of being standard-bearers of new economic and social models. 

Lessons learned in the last century regarding sustainability, accessibility, security, and social justice should guide these new developments in addressing challenges such as the climate crisis, inequality, and overcrowding. However, the stubborn reality often proves to be contradictory to these noble purposes.

Cities symbolize the hope for a better life. According to the UN’s Word Cities Report, 4.4 billion people live in urban areas globally. That number is projected to rise to 6.68 billion by 2050.

However, many of the planet’s large urban centers and their surrounding areas are plagued by structural problems that growth only worsens.

Are new megacities a viable solution? They are envisioned as eco-sustainable, smart, and technologically advanced cities, self-sufficient safe communities, equipped with all essential services—and even some luxuries. However, while renderings show promise, the actual construction and sustainability of these hyper-ambitious projects are significantly more complex.

The Ambitious ‘New Cairo’, a Difficult Dream to Finance  

It is not surprising that many of these projects are emerging in two continents such as Africa and Asia, where urban settlements are rapidly evolving into overcrowded and chaotic megacities. 

The plan to build a New Administrative Capital (NAC) in Egypt aimed to alleviate the congestion of Cairo, which had already exceeded 10 million inhabitants by 2021. However, its construction has slowed down.

Situated 50km from the overpopulated capital, the NAC is an ambitious project promising 1.1 million homes, 600 hospitals, 150 mosques and churches, Africa’s tallest skyscraper (Iconic Tower) and the continent’s largest opera house, apart from all state power centers.

This pharaonic project has several open fronts. On the one hand, the financing channels: No less than 58 billion dollars are to be funded by ACUD (‘Administrative Capital for Urban Development’) and major foreign investors, including the largest construction company in China, the China State Construction Engineering Corporation. 

However, the substantial public funding has triggered criticism within Egypt, with detractors alleging that the project is a political maneuver by the ruling party, in power since 2014, to relocate its institutions away from areas of potential protests and unrest.

Critics also denounce the project’s enormous ecological footprint. Additionally, the real estate market in the new capital is prohibitive for most Egyptians, with the average apartment costing $60,000. 

Despite this, it is estimated that by the end of 2024 some 10,000 families will be living there, with about 48,000 civil servants employed. 

Hope City and Konza, Dubious Hopes for Africa

Africa is grappling with significant health, mobility, and livability issues as its cities expand rapidly. It is estimated that by 2033 there will be more Africans living in urban centres than in rural areas. Consequently, these new developments represent not only hope but also the new face of African modernity.

Hope City , a projected $10 billion megacity on the outskirts of Accra, Ghana’s capital, was designed to be a hub of technological innovation. However, today, Hope City remains a mirage—eleven years after its announcement, it is still unrealized.

Konza, on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, serves as a telling example. Announced in 2008 as a technopolis to position Kenya as a continental innovation hub, it has faced slow progress due to bureaucracy and investment issues, with the first brick laid only in 2013.

While it’s clear that project timelines are extensive, it’s notable that 90% of the city’s cost—totaling $15 billion—is funded by private investment. In a country where 25% of the population lives below the poverty line, one must question the necessity of a project that looks 20 years ahead without addressing immediate needs.

The Line and the Power of Petrodollars

There is also a boom in these new cities in areas enriched by natural resources such as oil. For instance, NEOM, located in the northwest of Saudi Arabia, is a futuristic gigacomplex being built to serve as the new economic engine of the area.

NEOM will consist of several zones: Oxagon, a hub for clean industries; Trojena, a mountain destination; Sindalah, a luxury island resort, and its most visible face: THE LINE, a large 170 km construction in a straight line that should extend from the desert to the Red Sea, initially projected to be fully operational by 2030.

However, according to the Bloomberg agency, the project has undergone a harsh adjustment: finally only 2.4 km will be completed by that date, and the forecast of 300,000 inhabitants for the first years of the next decade is far from the 1.5 million planned at the beginning. Its completion has been postponed until 2045.

Telosa: A Megacity ‘Made In America’

The challenges new megacities face are evident in the United States as well, where they are backed by world-renowned sponsors yet encounter familiar problems. These issues often stem from the ambitious nature of projects that seem to leap from the pages of science fiction into reality.

This is the case of Telosa, a city designed by the billionaire Marc Lore (founder of Walmart), with the support of the Danish architecture studio Bjarke Ingels, in the middle of the American desert, which aims to rethink current American urban models. 

Telosa is intended to blend key attributes from different cities: the diversity of New York; the efficiency, cleanliness and safety of Tokyo; and the sustainability and public services of Stockholm.

It would be an example of an open community and transparent management, where residents will be able to participate in the decision-making and budgeting process. It shall be governed by an economic system called ‘Equitism’, based on the idea that the better the city does, the more prosperous its inhabitants will be.

Perhaps the most utopian aspect of this project is an imposing skyscraper designed to symbolize the city’s spirit. This tower will manage various resources, including water storage and energy generation.

This megaproject aims to welcome its first residents by 2030 and projects a population of 5 million by 2050.

The New California of Silicon Valley

Another project, also sponsored by several of Silicon Valley’s fortunes, is California Forever, a community for 400,000 people planned in Solano County. 

California Forever is an idyllic project. Its computer-generated illustrations depict bucolic scenes with tree-lined streets, European-style houses, squares surrounded by cafes with outdoor terraces. The plan includes a host of appealing yet challenging proposals: homes, shops, restaurants, and schools within walking distance; the use of clean energy sufficient to power 1.5 million homes; sustainable, car-free neighborhoods; and self-sufficiency through local industry and commerce that enable residents to live and work within the same community. 

However, the project has been enveloped in secrecy from the start, beginning with its investors—a group of tech sector billionaires—who have been quietly acquiring rural land in Solano County, situated between Travis Air Force Base and the Sacramento River, over the past five years.

The plan has sparked opposition from local community members, farmers, and environmentalists, who fear it will replicate the pollution, mobility issues, housing shortages, and high costs plaguing other Californian cities. Although about $1 billion has been invested to date, project leaders’ greatest concern is that it might ultimately become just another conventional urban development.

Bill Gates’ Smart City

In Arizona, Bill Gates and a group of private investors have been wanting for years to start Belmont, a futuristic, smart and carbon-neutral city, designed for 300,000 people. 

The plan foresees the construction of 80,000 homes, with 1,500 hectares of industrial, office and commercial spaces, 1,375 hectares of open spaces, and 190 hectares for public schools. 

Belmont wants to be one of the world’s technological meccas, but along the way it will have to face major problems, such as the prolonged drought that the area suffers since decades ago, the extreme temperatures of the region or the enormous distance to urban centers such as Tucson or Phoenix, which are the main generators of employment in the area.