The Rwandan government has ambitious yet deeply disruptive plans to rebuild Kigali as Africa’s Singapore. Despite plans to uproot vast swathes of the city to make way for ’virtual Kigali,’ the response by ordinary city-dwellers has been one of striking silence, writes Thomas Goodfellow. (Article originally published at openDemocracy.net).

Around 72,000 applicants who are waiting for the allotment of plot or flat by Himachal Pradesh Housing and Urban Development Authority (HIMUDA) since 2010 have got a ray of hope as the state government has finally assured to fulfill its promise by identifying suitable land for the purpose. It was the dream to own a house in hill towns that people from across country had applied to HIMUDA scheme and had even deposited Rs 5000 in cash with the application but latter could not find the land to keep its promise.

Democratic Republic of Congo will create a new town named after Patrice Lumumba, its assassinated post-independence prime minister, the government said on Tuesday.

Work is underway to establish three new townships in some remote areas says Deputy Permanent Secretary for Rural Development Peni Ratumaitavuki.

In what councillors described as ‘‘an historic day for Aberdeenshire,’’ ambitious plans for Chapelton - Scotland’s largest new town - were given the go-ahead on Tuesday, paving the way for work to begin on the first new neighbourhood on the Chapelton of Elsick site to the west of Newtonhill.

Taylor Morrison of Texas and Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) have purchased more than 2,100 acres of land in Leander, Texas, from Texas-based The Lookout Group as the Austin home builders work to build on the success of nearby developments and the resurgent housing market.

The creation of new towns has been suggested by two independent councillors serving Wharfedale as a way of tackling the housing shortage.

Carnes Crossroads, a 2,300-acre master planned "sister community" to Daniel Island, is scheduled to launch with a Street Party celebration April 28, 2013. Planned to incorporate many of the same elements that have made Daniel Island a success, the new community will integrate traditional neighborhoods, parks, trails and lakes with schools and churches, a hospital, medical offices, retail businesses, corporate offices and more.

In Cambourne, near Cambridge, mock-Georgian houses sit next to a replica stone circle, along streets with names such as Quidditch Lane. Can these new developments really recreate traditional village life?

MEC for economic development Mcebisi Jonas has announced a plan to build a new town along the Wild Coast to help facilitate the R8bn planned N2 Wild Coast Development Programme.

In the midst of such a serious recession in Europe, plans are in play for a brand new city outside of Paris, France.

SCRA, an applied research corporation based in Columbia, S.C., has announced entering a deal to buy 10 acres at Nexton, the 4,500-acres master planned community that broke ground earlier this year. The company plans to move its Charleston operations and most of its 185 employees to the newly acquired property at the junction of I-26 and Highway 17A.

Angry Guangzhou natives in the ramshackle village of Tan, the last urban village left standing in the posh Zhujiang New Town, have stepped up their fight in court this week to protect their ancient homes.

The Board of Directors of the ambitious Kochi Smart City in Kerala met here yesterday and approved the master plan for the project, according to which construction of buildings in the first phase would begin on July 1 and be completed within 18 months.

The master plan of prestigious IT project Smart City Kochi was cleared at a meeting held in Dubai on Thursday, and work on it is slated to begin in July, officials said.

The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday announced a satellite township on the outskirts of Madurai at a cost of Rs 120 crore and proposed to build 4,454 houses in several other districts.

With development of Dubai Sustainable City set to start at the end of this month, the Dubai property company behind the project, Diamond Developers, announced that off-plan sales will begin in July, gulfnews.com reported on April 14. According to the company chairman and chief executive officer, Faris Saeed, property prices at the green project will be in line with those seen elsewhere in the Dubai property market.

It is a widely held belief that Hong Kong is characterized by its small territory and dense population. The city’s 1,100 square kilometers accommodate a population of 7 million. However, just 28 percent of its land has been developed, with housing comprising a mere 7 percent. Given these figures, the city’s high house prices are not surprising.

Celebration, an unincorporated, master-planned community to the Northwest of the small Central Florida city of Kissimmee, was established in 1994 as a prototypical example of New Urbanism.

VARANASI: The VaranasiMasterplan-2031 (structure) will be tabled before the Varanasi Development Authority (VDA) Board during its Wednesday meeting to seek its nod for making it public to invite suggestions and objections from citizens.

The government is planning to build a modern city on an expansive piece of virgin land in Karuma, some 300 kilometres north of Kampala, according to senior bureaucrats.

The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday announced a satellite township on the outskirts of Madurai at a cost of Rs 120 crore and proposed to build 4,454 houses in several other districts.

A detailed design masterplan for a $1bn medical city in Oman has been completed, officials have announced. Apex Medical Group, which is developing the healthcare project, said US-based PSOMAS has finished work on the infrastructure plan for the International Medical City (IMC).

(Reuters) - China’s new president told Africans on Monday he wanted a relationship of equals that would help the continent develop, responding to concerns that Beijing is only interested in shipping out its raw materials.

The Wescape project was the city’s biggest urban development project to date, and would be built between Melkbosstrand and Atlantis, about 32 kilometres north of central Cape Town. The 3100 hectare development would eventually comprise 200,000 houses, 415 schools, 370 public service facilities and 15 sports complexes.