New Cities With New Rules: The Rise of African Charter Cities

Listen or watch to understand:

• About The Charter Cities Institute (CCI).
• What Charter Cities are and how the idea came about.
• The CCI model for Charter Cities and how if differers from the initial model of economist Paul Romer.
• Reforming institutions in a deep way that is necessary.
• How we know that these cities will actually work.
• How Public Private Partnerships can make it work.
• Examples of Charter Cities. [Dubai, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Singapore]
• How a Charter City is different from a special economic zone, free port or other special jurisdiction.
• How Charter Cities can help solve some major challenges that Africa is facing. [Legal, Financial, Technical Capacity]
• The disciplining affect and advantage of political competition.
• The biggest challenge and risk in creating charter cities in Africa.
• How this risk can be mitigated.
• Africa's Next 50 Cities Coalition (NXT50). A global initiative to support the development of new African cities.
• The possibilities and opportunities presented by the rapid growth of urbanisation in Africa.

About Kurtis Lockhart
Kurtis Lockhart is a PhD candidate in political science at the University of Oxford. His research examines the effect of institutional reforms on public goods provision with a regional focus on sub-Saharan Africa. At Oxford he's taught both quantitative methods and African politics. In the field, he has previously worked as a Research Manager for the International Growth Centre (IGC), for Warc Africa (both in Sierra Leone), and for the ELIMU Impact Evaluation Center in Kenya where he managed the implementation of several randomized control trials across many different sectors (health insurance, rural electrification, tax administration, and legal aid). Kurtis has also completed consulting projects with both Oxford Development Consultancy and with Warc Africa. He holds an MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics where he graduated top of his class, as well as a BA in Economics and Development Studies (First Class Honors) from McGill University.

About The Charter Cities Institute
The Charter Cities Institute is a nonprofit dedicated to building the ecosystem for charter cities. It was founded on the idea that a fresh approach was necessary to tackle humanity's most pressing challenges: global poverty, rapid urbanization, and conflict and migration caused by poverty, war, and climate change. Charter cities - new cities granted a special jurisdiction to create a new governance system - are that solution.
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About Africa's Next 50 Cities Coalition (NXT50)
Africa's Next 50 Cities Coalition (NXT50) is helping create a roadmap for what the next fifty cities built in Africa will look like. NXT50 convenes and mobilizes key stakeholders who are dedicated to harnessing Africa's rapid urbanization for human prosperity. The coalition's aim is to facilitate the building of thriving new cities that create jobs, foster investment and innovation, and promote human flourishing across the continent.
Find out more