An African vision for smart cities

Surbana Jurong is a planning consultancy spun out of Singapore's government with the explicit purpose of exporting the island-nation's smart city approaches. The company has worked extensively in China, and s author Robert Neuwirth writes, "Over the past five years, Surbana has become the go-to planner on the continent, inking contracts in ten countries. Beyond Kigali, Surbana signed on to plan Kinshasa (capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo), Brazzaville (capital of the Republic of Congo), Libreville (capital of Gabon), Bujumbura (capital of Burundi), Conakry (capital of Guinea), Luanda (capital of Angola) and Lagos, the massive commercial centre of Nigeria. In addition, Ghana has hired Surbana to devise a plan for a tract so big it makes up half the acreage in the country, and Tanzania and Rwanda have tapped the firm to plan several smaller cities." But the projects remain unbuilt and subject to opposition (much like tech districts in the Global North).

Is this a new form of colonization, masquerading under the banner of technical assistance? Neuwirth poses the question as he points to local designers and activists who criticize the new plans as disconnected from developments on the ground. There he finds a counterweight in the form of a new wave of architects who, rather than seek approval from abroad, hope to develop an African vision of the 21st century city, based on design for the continent's young population, affordability, and decentralized decision-making. This points towards a possible future where African smart cities turn away from developed countries and chart their own path.