Previous studies confirm that there are two stages for establishing urban plans and urban forms in PCCs, as summarised in Fig. 6. The first stage includes the urban plans, which discusses political, sociocultural, and human indicators. It includes determining the purpose of establishing a new capital. This begins with its geographical location, spatial relationship to the country’s old capital, and its area and size in terms of population density. It also includes defining the objectives of the city’s master plan. The second stage is concerned with urban morphology variables and formations at both the master plan level and in detailed plans, which includes urban paradigms. It focuses on the urban form based on the organisation and spatial formation of the elements of the physical structure of cities, spatial arrangement of activities, and urban artefacts.
To determine the similarities and elements of similarities in each new capital city, we relied on the analysis of six integrated schemes (or cities built from scratch) for African and Asian capitals: Chandigarh, Islamabad, Abuja, Nur-Sultan, Naypyitaw, and the NAC. The temporal divergence between the plans of these capitals was about 70 years, ranging from the date of construction of the first two cities, Chandigarh in 1953 and Islamabad in 1960, to the NAC in Egypt in 2015. Next, we conclude the implications of the similarities in two indicators, including urban plans and urban forms.
First: urban plans
Geographical, demographic, political, and socio-cultural dimensions
The PPCs in this study are similar in how they are located away from the old capital cities. The distance between Islamabad and Karachi is 1140.4 km (Pakistan Meteorological Department 2020), while Lagos is 761 km away from Abuja (National Bureau of Statistics (nbs) 2010). Nay Pyi Taw is 320 km to the north of Rangoon (Wang et al. 2018) and 12.8 to 16 km west and northwest of the city of Phimana (Preecharushh 2011). The distance between Chandigarh and Shimla (the temporary capital city before Chandigarh) is 113 km, while the NAC is 60 km from Cairo (CUBE Consultants 2021). According to Google Earth measurements, the distance between Akmola and Almaty (Astana/Nur-Sultanto) is 162.84 km.
The locations of the PPC were chosen for several reasons. Islamabad’s main objective was its location near the foot of the Margalla Pass, which would enable access from all locations (Preecharushh 2011). It was considered ideal for fostering an Islamic identity in this place, which benefits from the climate’s unique characteristics, the beauty of the terrain, the ease of transportation, the capital’s defence, and the availability of construction materials, water, and energy resources (Sarshar 2019). Additionally, Islamabad was linked to the old city of Rawalpindi, and both towns grew in a monodirectional fashion (Sarshar 2019, p. 255).
Abuja was selected for its location in the Gwagwa Plains in the northeastern quadrant of the Federal Capital Territory, bordered by hills on all three sides (Adeponle 2013, p. 146). This position offered almost equal access to the whole nation (p. 147). The Nay Pyi Taw site was also chosen as it was close to large developing industrial centres, in contrast to isolated places, such as the ancient capital of Yangon (Gawęcki 2013, p. 40). Meanwhile, Nur-Sultan is on ‘low floodplain terraces and is divided by the River Ishim’ (United Nations 2020, p. 8).
Similar to the large planned regions that have millions of people, the master plans for capital cities have been planned as follows: Chandigarh, 114 km2 and 1.055 million in 2014 (Shaw 2009, p. 864; NOSPlan 2020); Islamabad, 906 km2 and 2 million (UN-Habitat 2014); Nay Pyi Taw, 4600 km2 and 1.16 million in 2014 (Wang et al. 2018); Abuja, 7,315 km2, around 3.09 million in 2019 (and expected to increase to 7.17 million by 2040) (Japan International Cooperation Agency [JICA], 2019, pp. 1–1, 2–1); Nur-Sultan, 722 km2 and ‘the master plan predicted that the city which has one million inhabitants today would have 490,000 inhabitants by 2010 and 800,000 by 2030’ (Shelekpayev 2020, p. 518); the NAC in Egypt, 600 km2, with seven million in the first stage and predicted to become 2000 km2 by 2045 (CUBE Consultants 2021).
According to the current study, emerging capital cities may be similar from a theoretical point of view. Following the political and strategic planning thought led to their distinction on a national level as ‘nation’s aspirations’ in Islamabad (Sarshar 2019, p. 252), the physical embodiment of the national goals of unity in Abuja (Elleh and Edelman 2013, p. 3), a symbol of Nigeria’s aspiration for unity and greatness (Obiadi et al. 2019, p. 376), and the pride of the black race as a modern and efficient city (Nor et al. 2020, p. 4).
Communities’ historical context
The problem of communities’ historical context was apparent in the creation of Chandigarh as a symbolic city for an independent India, and Prime Minister Nehru’s wish for the new capital to embody the values of the new nation-state (Chalana and Sprague 2013). Such ambition to establish the new nation’s identity was also evident in Islamabad, which was regarded as the dream of Ayub Khan, the country’s head of state after its independence (Sarshar 2019). In contrast, Abuja was designated as a federal capital before its construction (Elleh and Edelman 2013, p. 3). It was required to handle ethnic diversity, and solidify national identity, through a ‘state-led project’ using all its resources (Nor et al. 2020). Nay Pyi Taw was established while considering the changes in strategic environments and shifts in safety scenarios in the twenty-first century (Preecharushh 2011).
Goals and aspirations
Parallel with the goals of the vision behind the urban plan, the master plans were developed to reject the religious and political divergences in the Chandigarh region (Chalana and Sprague 2013, p. 200) and reflect the ideals of 20th-century modernism in its architecture (Chalana 2015, p. 62). Similarly, Islamabad sought to find a designated capital of national identity, in the form of a post-colonial model that would establish the idea of unity in a country split ethnically and geographically and become the central government’s seat (Sarshar, 2019). Abuja also has set its goals as an administrative, commercial, cultural, agricultural, and industrial centre (small and large industries) that supports construction work. It is also a centre for the absorption of immigrants. It serves the residents of the surrounding villages, linking them with communication channels to facilitate urban integration in the country (Obiadi et al. 2019).
The Nur-Sultan master plan aimed to build a political nation and ultimately identify the state with its citizens, regardless of ethnicity or religion (Gawęcki 2013, p. 48), and with an emphasis on architectural elements. Nay Pyi Taw’s vision was also based on an urban expansion centred on government-led infrastructure development. It was among the first batch of 26 cities nominated by their national governments to be in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Smart Cities Network (UN-Habitat 2019, p. 126).
Second: urban form
Urban paradigms
We discuss how similar or different paradigms influence the production of urban forms in this section. Here the argument is that practitioners who follow a similar or limited number of urban paradigms might produce similar urban forms.
The evidence from literature shows that many capitals adopted modernism to express nationalist and utopian ideals (Abusaada and Elshater 2018; Chalana and Sprague 2013, p. 201). These capital cities also applied the International Congress of Modern Architecture principles (CIAM) to the Athens Charter (Moulis 2012, p. 881; Shaw 2009), which is to live, work, move, and entertain (Chalana 2015, p. 64). In Chandigarh, Le Corbusier applied his idea of a grid-iron pattern, following the concept of modernist urbanism (Moulis 2012, p. 871). Doxiadis’ ideas for Ecumenopolis in Islamabad are based on the power of money and industry and combine a grid-iron plan with free-planning sectors influenced by the surrounding valleys and topography (Sarshar 2019, p. 254). Nor et al. (2020) described the idea of Abuja’s general plan as being based on California, particularly its central area. It uses its natural characteristics, such as hills, which are the site of the city’s most famous elements, and which appear to be the symbols for achieving the city’s goal. In addition, the planners utilised a service hierarchy, beginning with the central, sector, and residential districts. In this respect, Shaw (2009) claimed that international styles affected individual buildings.
Considering urban paradigms, Islamabad is a sustainable city and Abuja is an integrated and sustainable city (Adeponle 2013). The vision of Nay Pyi Taw was to build a smart, climate-resilient, environmentally sustainable, green and liveable city by 2040, that is a hub for knowledge, international aviation transit, freight and logistics (Aung 2019). At Nur-Sultan, Kurokawa applied the symbiotic idea of the city, to connect the past with the future (Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates 2015). In addition, the NAC employs the six principles, namely, sustainable, green, walkable, liveable, connected, smart, and entrepreneurship-friendly cities (Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates, 2015).
Organisation and spatial formation
The following paragraphs describe the similarity argument produced by organising and forming urban structures. The six PCCs have similar features in urban formations, central axis, activity sites, structural hierarchy, and city divisions.
Islamabad was planned to be built in stages to determine the location and size of the land and dimensions of the main roads and lanes from the beginning. Abuja was also implemented through four stages, starting from the urban centre in the northeast, with the integration of the different areas into the central area in a sequential manner, and evolving a harmonious relationship (Adeponle 2013, p. 147). The NAC adopted three phases in the central park (known as the green river), including the main activities in the first phase, such as the presidential palace, the ministries area, the diplomatic district, and residential areas. Previous studies have highlighted that many PCCs utilised the ‘grid-iron plan’, sometimes with slight changes to the site circumstances and landscape, infrastructure, and grid systems, like in Chandigarh (Moulis 2012, p. 885). In Islamabad, this kind of planning reflects the spatial needs within a basic planning unit of 2.2 × 2.2 km, surrounded by the main roads (Sarshar 2019, p. 526). In Abuja also the streets reflect the grid layout (Adeponle 2013, p. 147). The NAC grid layout, however, appears in curved lines.
Some master plans aim to preserve the architectural and urban vision particularly. For instance, a rectangular grid has been used to organise self-contained neighbourhood units or sectors in Chandigarh (Chalana 2015, p. 62). Additionally, a structural hierarchy has been used in residential areas, from the residential neighbourhood (the largest planning unit) to the local street (a basic planning unit) through the residential neighbourhood unit, and the cell that includes the residential block and plots of land. Capital cities applied a hierarchy of grids in circulation routes. Chandigarh used the grid to subdivide the city government, business, and leisure functions (Chalana 2015, p. 62). Family life is contained in segments with super-large apartment complexes (Shaw 2009, p. 867). The grid was used in Islamabad to form a dynamic city with expanding residential areas and various central functions such as administration, industry, and recreation (Sarshar 2019). According to Adeponle (2013), the neighbourhood unit appeared as the smallest planning unit in Abuja, with a capacity of 5000 people, followed by the city centre with business district, comprising government offices, official residences, a hospital, a transport station, and national symbols, such as the National Assembly, Supreme Court, museum, the National Mosque, churches and the International Conference Centre.
Kurokawa maintained and redeveloped the city of Nur-Sultan following its symbolic visibility (Shelekpayev 2020, p. 508). He intended to transform it into a symbiotic city, composed of various city functions, such as housing, business, culture, entertainment, and education, with the business city and capitol building (the city government) on the southern side of the Ishim River. The new city was established to the south and east of the Ishim River, and aimed to create two symbols, locally and globally, within the city through its architecture (Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates 2015). The first symbol is the river and the city (history and future), expressed through the new dwellings on both sides of the river. The second symbol is the forest and the city, with the development of the train station (the business city), and the central axis of the city (central park) extending from the city train.
Spatial arrangement of activities
This study confirmed that the six PCCs adopted a central axis where cultural and recreational activities converged. This axis is the city’s green lung, with ‘the leisure valley’ in Chandigarh (Chalana 2015, p. 64), and the ‘green river’ in the NAC (Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD) 2016). In both capitals, the axis extends to create a green network that connects residential areas into green nuclei. Furthermore, both capitals are surrounded by a green belt, reflecting, according to Chalana (2015), the garden city movement in Chandigarh and the parkway style in Abuja (Adeponle 2013, p. 148).
In Abuja, the surrounding slopes of inland hills and mountains in the Gwagwalada plains form the city’s visible rear and the primary contact points inside (Adeponle 2013). The best sites for the most important activities were chosen in Abuja, similar to Chandigarh, including the positioning of the capitol complex with significant government and civic buildings, network-free and landscaped beyond—at the foothills of the Himalayan hills (Moulis 2012) This issue also arose when selecting the location of the Presidential Palace in Islamabad, where the city is the centre of government activities, and the least valuable services were distributed at the borders of the city.
The Nigerian federal government is at the heart of the central hub in Abuja, and is flanked by the architectural elements (Adeponle 2013). The central axis in Nur-Sultan extends from the developed train station in the old city to the modern city centre which is represented by the city’s central park (Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates 2015). Nay Pyi Taw includes three sectors, according to Preecharushh (2011, p. 1034). The northern region is the administrative and irrigated sector, which includes the ministries of commerce, construction, cooperatives, livestock, and fisheries and the central region is an executive and developmental area and an urban nucleus, which includes civil buildings, such as hospitals, shopping complexes, and residential areas. The city also includes the Nay Pyi Taw Miomo Market, the National Library, the National Theatre, the National Zoo, various government ministries dealing with energy, foreign affairs and information, the police force headquarters, the capital development commission, and an agricultural research station. Moreover, the city consists of many parks and green spaces, specifically the National Grass Garden in the centre of the capital (p. 1041).
In another context, the new downtown Nur-Sultan adopted a triangular shape to nest and live symbiotically with the forest. Presidential offices, such as the Diet Building, Supreme Court, National Guesthouse, and presidential houses form an abstract symbiosis architecture, through buildings that reflect abstract symbolism using simple geometric shapes. The buildings reflect the historical and cultural symbols of the state of Kazakhstan and its status as an international city (Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates 2015; Shelekpayev 2020).
The NAC master plan includes four unequal sections separated by the Green River, including the Opera House, the service strip that consists of the university city, the smart village, the train station, the financial and business district, and the medical city. The first phase includes eight residential neighbourhoods, each comprising a green oasis and divided into compound residential neighbourhoods. They include the diplomatic quarters (embassies) and the presidential palace area, separated by the government district, which includes the city of arts and culture, the investors’ district, and the government district. The second phase includes residential areas, city airports, and garden housing. According to Gawęcki (2013, p. 45), the presence of accredited diplomats is an essential feature that proves the capital’s status in the city. These capitals are similar, in their transfer of ministries and embassies from the old to the new. Some of the capitals included low-to high-income housing patterns, high-cost housing, and high-rise buildings (skyscrapers) in the centre of the city, such as in Chandigarh, Islamabad, and NAC. Simultaneously, Nay Pyi Taw focused on innovative city technologies in several projects, such as affordable housing, low-cost housing, and inclusive international universities (Asean smart cities network: Smart cities action plan [ASEC], 2018, pp. 32–33).
Urban artefacts
This section discusses the similarity in urban artefacts in the six PCCs that were demonstrated by similar visual effects of landmarks, services, and residential blocks. Similarly, these effects may also be observed elsewhere. In Chandigarh, the designs of the four landmarks of the metropolis (the Supreme Court, Secretariat, Assembly, Knowledge Museum, and the surrounding Chandigarh City Park) symbolise visual singularities (Shaw 2009, p. 868). This is also evident in the monumental mosque in Islamabad, the Uppatasanti Pagoda building in Nay Pyi Taw, the capital mosque in Nur-Sultan, the mosque and cathedral in the NAC, and the Capitol Complexes in Chandigarh, Nay Pyi Taw, and the NAC. The evidence also includes the Presidential Palace in Islamabad, and the Ak-Orda Presidential Palace in Nur-Sultan (Shelekpayev 2020). These landmarks are repeated at the World Trade Centre, Abuja, and the Khan Shatyr Mall in Nur-Sultan. The Presidential Palace of President Office of Myanmar, Indonesia and the Square of Unity and Diversity are among the essential features of the master plan.
The review of literature showed a desire to enhance the visual effect of such landmarks. The Assembly Palace, Martyr’s Monument, and Open Hand by Le Corbusier, for example, are architectural icons of Chandigarh (Shaw 2009, p. 868). These symbols may also be seen in Abuja’s three arms area in the national parliament building, along with related sculptures by Kenzo Tange (Elleh and Edelman 2013, p. 4), and in Nur-Sultan in Norman Foster’s Baiterek Memorial Tower and the Palace of Peace and Conciliation. In addition, Gawęcki discussed the strength of Nur-Sultan’s small architecture, adding to the city’s image, which is repeated in copies of pieces of folk-art works taken from traditional Kazakh jewels (Gawęcki 2013, p. 52).
The literature also showed that many capital cities were similar in designing everything planned to be massive and striking, including residential towers, commercial centres, and hotels extending up to 24 floors and more, as in Abuja (Nor et al. 2020). For instance, the Baiterek Tower in Nur-Sultan, with a height of 79 m, is a national symbol, appearing on the Kazakh banknote, and was designed to establish three philosophical elements: earth, life, and sky (Gawęcki 2013, pp. 49–50). The Diamond Tower in the NAC, which is the highest building in Africa with a height of 400 m, is also a national symbol. Shaw (2009) refers to the Chandigarh style, which resembles boxes of bricks, stones, and tiny windows to reduce the cost of construction and protection from the climate. However, the Chandigarh style seems to be following an international trend. Besides, similarities also emerged in landscape architecture, for example, the large green lakes in Chandigarh, the water fountain park, zoo and boulevard in Nay Pyi Taw and the green river in the NAC.