How should we build future African cities?
The singer Akon has announced he's building a new city in Uganda. But are these so-called futuristic cities realistic? And how do you go about constructing one?
The singer Akon has said he's building a new city in Uganda, to add to the one he's already planning in his home country of Senegal. His plans include gravity-defying skyscrapers, luxury apartments and places for study, work and leisure - all within a short walk of each other. The city will even have its own cryptocurrency - "Akoin". It's a far cry from the problems that blight many African cities: poor housing, water shortages and electricity black-outs. These futuristic cities are cropping up across the continent, but some experts wonder if they really are the utopia they seem. Sakhile Mngadi is a city councillor for Durban and an architect. He said many of the futuristic cities "aren't really speaking to the context they live in." So how do you build a hi-tech city that also benefits the people that live there? That's what Alan Kasujja's been finding out in today's episode of Africa Daily
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Africa Daily
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