Mega-projects are projects that require immense resources to create. This includes all different aspects; funding, labour, etc. These projects are meant to create a massive effect on the city or national level through providing job opportunities during construction as well as after completion. Moreover, these projects usually have an intercontinental effect that echoes worldwide and may affect other projects, cities or even countries either positively or negatively. Mega-projects are not restricted to certain project typologies; in fact they range from Olympic cities to water dams and channels. We can even claim that the first mega-project was the great pyramid. Mega-projects can also be linked to mega-events thus achieving more international acknowledgement. This paper discusses the creation of new capital cities as a mega-project typology. It analyzes different examples worldwide where a new capital city was created to act as a mega-project that would create ripples of economic and urban development through a country. The capitals of Brazil, Kazakhstan and Egypt are studied to display the authors view of them as mega-projects that have the same function but span across time, space and cultures.
Urban competitiveness has become an undeniable reality of our world. Cities around the world create strategies and development plans to enhance their competitiveness and reach worldwide fame and attraction for different segments. This competition has widened to reach different aspects of social, economic, physical and environmental aspects of cities. Along the years different methodologies and criteria were proposed to create a systematic assessment of cities worldwide and rank their competitiveness. The results of such assessments are published in indices; e.g. Global Power City Index, Global Power City Index, etc. Each index has its own set of indicators that cover different aspects of cities; e.g. economy, environment, accessibility. Sample cities from all over the world are graded and ranked accordingly. The cities that achieve top ranking in those global assessment lists are called global cities. This paper aims to investigate if being a national capital can be related to becoming a global city. This is through the study of two global city rankings; Global Power City Index (GPCI) and Global Cities Index (GCI), for three successive years; 2016, 2017, 2018. It is shown that around 50% of ranked cities are national capitals across both ranking system and over the three years covered in this research. European national capitals reach 66% of those featured, followed by Asian capitals with around 33%. The presence of capital cities is also evident in within each indicator of the Global Power City Index (GPCI). In general, evident presence can be linked to national capitals especially those of Europe and Asia.
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