'this is big money': new cities promise a smarter, greener future but will reality match the pitch? - where to buy a smart board

Sarah Moze lost her way in Montreal's home, Central.
She was stuck in a dead end on a new road winding through southern Malaysia.
On her right is a place called Puteri Harbour, a trendy new yacht club and luxury apartment compound, and one of the flagship developments in the area.
A bunch and a half on the left-
Built villas, luxurious suburban materials-to-be.
Right across from the water is Singapore and its military training Island.
Decades ago, the island was a scene of a story that shocked people across the narrow strait.
Three wild elephants removed from the Malaysian jungle have toured. 5-
Landed on the island of Singapore.
Headlines followed them for more than 10 days when they were found, missing, eventually captured and eventually returned to Malaysia.
Moser said: "It's hard to really understand the fact that not long ago, when you looked around and saw office buildings and condominium towers, shopping malls, it was completely a wild area
"In the past 10 years or so, the environment has been very tame.
Where are those animals now?
She took another look. "Not here.
Moze knows the area very well.
Before becoming a professor of urban geography at McGill University, she studied in Southeast Asia for many years.
On last October, she returned to the ground for another round of field work to check fast-
She called it "one of the biggest changes in land ".
"Are we ready for the 'smart' city?
Moze studies new cities. In the last 20-
It is strange that more than 40 countries have announced new urban projects.
The development of the whole city is being planned, prepared and ground-breaking.
They are naming places with no names, remapping the world map and promising a clean, green and intelligent future.
It remains to be seen whether they can really deliver anything.
In Malaysia, "new urban groups" appeared for the first time ".
"I discovered bucheng in 2006," she said of Malaysia's new huali city as its administrative capital.
"I think the overall planning of the city is 1960 --
Chandigarh, India, Brasilia, Brazil.
So I went to visit bucheng and found out this was what happened today.
Then I found this new city that is constantly emerging.
"Over the past 20 years, more than 100 new urban projects have been announced.
There are multiple projects in some countries
There are 5 in Saudi Arabia, 10 in Indonesia, 15 in Morocco and 5 in Malaysia.
See how a new city promotes itself.
Planned cities have become a model of development and a way for countries in the Global South
Or the developing world. to jump-Start the economy.
"New cities are seen as a way to transform economies from agriculture, light industry or resources --
In the digital age, real estate is often a key part of this project.
"Now, it's very profitable all over the world," Moser said . ".
"It's a lot of money.
"Some of the models like 1960 are government initiatives.
A lot more is open.
Private partnership. At least one —
King Abdullah City of Saudi Arabia (KAEC)—
It is a private company listed on the stock exchange.
In addition to how they finance, the people behind them are changing.
"50 years ago, the main participants in urbanization in the world were the United States. S.
And European countries . "
"Now, we see a lot of money from the Gulf region, a lot of money from China and the rest of Asia being invested in parts of the Middle East, Asia and even Latin America.
"Different cities are promoted as smart cities, knowledge cities or economic cities, and they are also promoted as panaceas for all urban issues in the global South.
"So, congestion, pollution, overcrowding, housing shortages," Moser said . ".
"All of these problems are very real and they offer new cities as solutions to provide a clean, green modern living space for their population.
"Whether and how these new utopia develop is an openended question.
It's too early to say.
But Moser's research reveals some unexpected consequences.
KAEC, for example, is "subverted quietly ".
According to Moser, "The people behind it think it's a way to change the country and create a more liberal region.
"In addition to the regions owned by the state, the rules relating to gender segregation in Saudi Arabia do not apply there.
Saudi religious police are also not allowed to enter.
"Targeting the elite," but elsewhere, such as in southern Malaysia, the current indicators may not be as progressive as they are seen in private Saudi cities.
"As we have discovered through many such projects, they are often targeted at the elite.
The type of unit they are creating is out of reach for the middle class, not to mention people with lower socio-economic status.
"It is not entirely clear what the situation is, although overall we seem to be creating large, closed enclave on an unprecedented scale. " About a 20-
Just a few minutes south of the dead end near Port Puteri, one of the most daring new city projects.
The Forest City is a private, gated city built on four artificial islands at the top of the Malaysian peninsula.
Singapore is located on an important shipping route, just two kilometers from Singapore, the most powerful economy in Southeast Asia.
This is a master.
Planning the city for 700,000 people, pay for the "main model of the Future City.
"Since 2014, it belongs to a consortium whose main shareholder is Country Garden, China's largest real estate developer.
How do you build a 10-
Near minutes?
Most of the people who have purchased so far are Chinese, they are members of the emerging middle class in Asia, and they are looking for a safe place to store their money.
"Forest City is a very unique project," Moser said . ".
"They did not claim to ease the population pressure in Malaysian cities.
They claim this is an investment opportunity and strategic positioning.
They claim they will have a vibrant port and a vibrant central business district.
They will be a good place to live, clean and safe.
That's why Andrew Yap, a retired Malaysian businessman, is working.
One morning, Yap was on the beach as Moze walked sideways towards him.
She asked him if he lived in a forest city. "No," he said.
He lives in Singapore but has several apartments in port Putley and one in the Forest City.
They talked for a while and he expressed great trust in the development boom in southern Malaysia.
"This is a very strategic place," Yap said . "
"I believe the price here will be very good in the future.
"The urban planning innovation has led Colombia ahead of Canadian urban design, which may add years to your life and he is not planning to rent his Forest City unit, but already knows he will sell it
"The expansion of real estate as an asset class is what we have seen globally in the last 10 or 20 years, and it does drive a lot of these new cities," Moser said . ".
"The difference between creating real estate for people and creating real estate for investment is. . .
It does not necessarily create a home that is so desperately needed.
It is creating a bedroom apartment to become a very good currency in real estate transactions.
"From a practical point of view, this means that the Forest City is not very accessible to the locals.
"Who will live in the city for such a expensive bungalow?
Malaysian MP Huang Shuqi said.
"I checked it myself.
Obviously, I can't afford it. many locals can't afford it.
"Huang Guangyu, who criticized forest cities in the early days, did not believe in such trade --
This is worth it.
But she insisted that since part of the overall plan had become a reality, it had to succeed, namely that Malaysia could not afford the vacancy rate caused by excess investment properties.
"If the city is going to be a ghost city and no one will live on a man-made island, we can't afford it.
We have already paid for environmental costs and many other costs if they will not succeed. . .
I can't imagine.
"In the project, a large number of Chinese investor tourists come to the sales gallery in Forest City almost every day.
At the end of the tour guide, a counter at the cashier stood there ready to pay the down payment by credit card before the visitor got on the bus.
Ng Zhu Hann, chief strategy officer for forest cities, said developers have expanded their sales strategy to markets outside mainland China and insisted that forest cities are more than just a residential project.
"When We Talk About Forest City, we talk about it as a real city," he said in front of one of the many models in the showroom.
"The residence is only part of it.
When it was conceptualized. .
They understand that if a project of this scale is to succeed, it must be economically dynamic, it must have industries, and it must have opportunities to create jobs.
"Tapping the potential of neighboring Singapore has always been part of the problem.
Wu said the focus for the next three years is to attract regional headquarters.
As far as the current situation is concerned, the Forest City is mainly a huge construction site, showing only the weakest signs of urban life.
In August 2018, the first international boarding school welcomed 100 new students.
In September, the first batch of 150 keys to complete the residential units was delivered.
Ng said there are about 1,000 residents at any time, but do what we can in our four months --
We did not find it after a day's stay.
It's too early, Ng said, stressing that developers are willing to change.
We have been adjusting because we are a private company.
However, he said: "public listing . "
Private enterprises are always determined by economic forces.
Not only that, but also the social and political forces.
"In fact, all these forces have forced several pivot points in the project.
The developers have made connections with local communities and have recently promised to build affordable housing.
But it also stopped further reclamation and said the construction of the remaining three islands would depend on market demand.
Sometimes, the most striking thing is the emptiness of the Forest City.
"This is not a city," Moze said . "
"It's a project, it's a new city project. It's a hotel.
It's actually a resort right now.
Therefore, it takes a long way to get to a city.
"The same is true of almost all new cities. "Of the 100-
In addition to the cities that have been announced, there are virtually no cities that have broken ground.
Very few years actually.
"The population is round," Moser said.
"So it's a big splash and fancy building that doesn't actually become a city as we understand it.
"However, despite her doubts, the enthusiasm surrounding the new city does not seem to be over.
Even Moser realized this.
"I can't imagine anything more happening, even though I'm always wrong," she said . ".
"I always predict that we are at the peak of a new city and then they will continue to be created.