Well, this is why Burma did the exact same thing (anybody who casts their memories back a few years might see how this relates to Egypt): >Naypyitaw, then, is the ultimate insurance against regime change, a masterpiece of urban planning designed to defeat any putative ‘colour revolution’ – not by tanks and water cannons, but by geometry and cartography. 320 kilometres to the south, Rangoon, with five million people,…
If a government wanted to relocate during unrest, couldn't they simply retreat to a loyalist military base? Would be cheaper than building another city.
Very bad optics. Surviving revolutions requires a show of strengths, and retreating to a military base is very much a sign of weakness.
Well, this is why Burma did the exact same thing (anybody who casts their memories back a few years might see how this relates to Egypt): >Naypyitaw, then, is the ultimate insurance against regime change, a masterpiece of urban planning designed to defeat any putative ‘colour revolution’ – not by tanks and water cannons, but by geometry and cartography. 320 kilometres to the south, Rangoon, with five million people,…
In Egypt case, the new capital looks to be too close to Cairo to give this sort of protection. Brazil changed the capital for that purpose too, and made it masterfully: Brazil had two previous capitals, the first is in Salvador, the capital was there for foreign military reasons: The city is a natural fortress, to attack Salvador by sea you need to navigate inside a bay that has cannons on both sides of the entrance,…
Regarding Brazil... but on the other hand, Niemeyer's Brasilia ended up being a place completely pedestrian-unfriendly, full of red dust, and generally speaking, not a desirable place to live. Sure, lots of federal employees live there, and take those jobs because they pay well and offer incredible security, but the wealthy who work in Brasilia typically reside in SP or Rio and just fly in to Brasilia Mon-Thurs or similar... including the politicians. They may have succeeded in designing a city that was strategically defensible, but if everyone who matters is mostly in Rio or SP anyway, ....
Well, this is why Burma did the exact same thing (anybody who casts their memories back a few years might see how this relates to Egypt): >Naypyitaw, then, is the ultimate insurance against regime change, a masterpiece of urban planning designed to defeat any putative ‘colour revolution’ – not by tanks and water cannons, but by geometry and cartography. 320 kilometres to the south, Rangoon, with five million people,…
In Egypt case, the new capital looks to be too close to Cairo to give this sort of protection. Brazil changed the capital for that purpose too, and made it masterfully: Brazil had two previous capitals, the first is in Salvador, the capital was there for foreign military reasons: The city is a natural fortress, to attack Salvador by sea you need to navigate inside a bay that has cannons on both sides of the entrance,…
Surely if there was a revolution, the other parts of the territory could simply ignore Brasília?
In Egypt case, the new capital looks to be too close to Cairo to give this sort of protection. Brazil changed the capital for that purpose too, and made it masterfully: Brazil had two previous capitals, the first is in Salvador, the capital was there for foreign military reasons: The city is a natural fortress, to attack Salvador by sea you need to navigate inside a bay that has cannons on both sides of the entrance,…
Surely if there was a revolution, the other parts of the territory could simply ignore Brasília?
Yeah, this is the part of the argument I don't understand... why do you need to control the government buildings? Just declare new ones. It's the guns that you need to control to own a country.
Sounds like a great way for corrupt officials to make huge money on kickbacks.
This is precisely the reason many of these huge projects are built. The Gulf countries have been and are still doing them (KAUST, KAEC, KAFD, huge mosque expansions, etc.) with a huge number of contracts going to Saudi Oger or the Binladin group. These contracts are rarely even negotiated properly.
The difference here is that Egypt can hardly afford this so they have to blag the money off of Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Well, this is why Burma did the exact same thing (anybody who casts their memories back a few years might see how this relates to Egypt): >Naypyitaw, then, is the ultimate insurance against regime change, a masterpiece of urban planning designed to defeat any putative ‘colour revolution’ – not by tanks and water cannons, but by geometry and cartography. 320 kilometres to the south, Rangoon, with five million people,…
I think it's for the same reason why the US hasn't seen a revolution in a very long time, despite the obvious corruption in Washington. Most people are too far away from Washington.
Have you been to the mid-Atlantic region recently.
In Egypt case, the new capital looks to be too close to Cairo to give this sort of protection. Brazil changed the capital for that purpose too, and made it masterfully: Brazil had two previous capitals, the first is in Salvador, the capital was there for foreign military reasons: The city is a natural fortress, to attack Salvador by sea you need to navigate inside a bay that has cannons on both sides of the entrance,…
Regarding Brazil... but on the other hand, Niemeyer's Brasilia ended up being a place completely pedestrian-unfriendly, full of red dust, and generally speaking, not a desirable place to live. Sure, lots of federal employees live there, and take those jobs because they pay well and offer incredible security, but the wealthy who work in Brasilia typically reside in SP or Rio and just fly in to Brasilia Mon-Thurs or si…
But isn't that the point?
Make the city unfriendly to masses of pedestrians rushing on your palace to topple you?
You can use Google translate to read Egypt Today's "New Administrative Capital in the NUmbers" piece, as well as see design pictures for those interest.
I believe it has English pages. I still stick to pre-revolution oppo media, so Egypt Today (Almasry Alyoum) and the Constituion (Ad-dostour) "original", not the new one that was bought out and sold out.
I hope the Egyptian HN crew can provide better reactions and info, as I am out of Cairo foo for some time since I have not been there in years.