Building Large-Scale, Master-Planned, Holistically-Designed Cities from Scratch: Re-Urbanism in Africa

Re-urbanism in Africa and elsewhere involves the construction of master- planned, holistically designed, and privately managed enclaves that appear like “alien spaceships” that drop in from somewhere else. In this discussion, Martin Murray places the processes of urban planning in contemporary Africa in historical context and explores their social, political, and economic consequences.

Martin Murray is a professor in the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan. He began his academic career as sociologist with a strong foundation in urban geography. His current research engages the fields of urban studies and planning, global urbanism, cultural geography, distressed urbanism, development, historical sociology, and African studies.

Professor Murray has completed two books on city building and spatial politics in Johannesburg after apartheid. His current research focuses on two fields of inquiry: first, the trajectories of global urbanism at the start of the 21st century; and second, the turn toward master-planned, holistically-designed “private cities” built from scratch, especially those currently under construction or in the planning stages in urban Africa.

A light lunch will be served.

The African Cities Working Group is supported by the Humanities Futures initiative. This event is also part of the series, “The Future of the African City”, co-sponsored by the Forum for Scholars and Publics and the Duke Africa Initiative and organized by Professors John Bartlett, Charlie Piot, and Karin Shapiro.