Constructed at great expense over the past decade, Myanmar's planned capital city of Naypyidaw boasts an empty 20-lane stretch of road. The city's real purpose may be to discourage regime change.
Myanmar's own "road to nowhere" was likely constructed for very different reasons than outsized, underutilized infrastructure elsewhere. The country's planned capital city, Naypyidaw, was built from nothing under the regime of former military leader Than Shwe. "The reasons the government chose to relocate the capital from Rangoon (the previous capital) to a patch of previously uninhabited jungle 200 miles north remains [sic] equally unclear."
Some have theorized that Naypyidaw's location and layout are a means to prevent violent regime change. "Some reports suggest that the nervous president overseeing the construction of this new capital [...] insisted on the giant boulevard so that it could act as a runway for planes in case of riots." By design, the city lacks the wide public squares that often act as spatial catalysts for revolutions and popular movements.
Naypyidaw looks impressive, but its wide thoroughfares are often completely empty of traffic. The place serves as an extreme example of how politics can dictate a city's shape.
FULL STORY: The Road through Naypyidaw
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
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Planetizen
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Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service