New cities for a ‘new Kuwait’: State-driven new city-building

Keywords: new cities; national development; post-oil economy; urban planning; state entrepreneurialism; Kuwait
Abstract Type: Virtual Paper Abstract

Abstract

An unprecedented state-driven new city-building boom is unfolding in Kuwait, with 12 brand new cities currently underway. While Kuwait is an oil-rich country, the country faces a critical turning point as peak oil and climate change pose threats to national wellbeing and sustainability. As a welfare state whose constitution guarantees housing to citizens, Kuwait shares oil wealth in ways that fundamentally shape urban planning and spatial development, and the current national city-building strategy aims to address housing shortages while reducing reliance on oil. Despite the resources channeled into new cities, Kuwait’s city building and its relationship to national economic development strategies has received little scholarly attention. New cities have different (but at times overlapping) actors, sources of financing, and ambitions. National-level support in the form of sufficient resources, political commitment, and execution from different government agencies (i.e., Public Authorities and Ministries) are critical facilitators for achieving new city developments. Kuwait’s construction industry hence is dominated by these government agencies that oversee public expenditures on infrastructure, housing and other urban construction projects. This article introduces the projects underway, their motivations, and the role of the state; examines Kuwait’s development logic for ‘future-proofing’ the country and how national sustainability goals and Vision 2035 for a ‘new Kuwait’ shape these projects; and reflects on the challenges they face.