Yamoussoukro, Cote d’Ivoire, Africa
 
 
Year1965latitude: 6° 49'
longitude: -5° 16'
Period1965-1983
Initiator(s)Ivorian Government, president Félix Houphouët-Boigny
Planning organization
Nationality initiator(s)
Designer(s) / Architect(s)
Design organization
Inhabitants242,744 (2010)
Target population
Town websitehttp://www.mairieyamoussoukro.org/index.php?page=histoire
Town related linkshttp://www.blackpast.org/gah/yamoussoukro-cote-d-ivoire-1983
http://fortuneofafrica.com/ivorycoast/yamoussoukro-city/
Literature

type of New Town: > scale of autonomy
New-Town-in-Town
Satellite
New Town
Company Town
> client
Private Corporation
Public Corporation
> policy
Capital
Decentralization
Industrialization
Resettlement
Economic
 

source: http://www.mairieyamoussoukro.org/


Yamoussoukro is located at the centre of the Lakes Region, 248 kilometres from Abidjan city, which it replaced as the capital of Côte d'Ivoire in 1983. Unlike other post-independence African capitals, Yamoussoukro was not chosen for its neutral tribal affiliations or geographic centrality. Rather, Houphouët-Boigny oversaw investment and infrastructure in his birthplace for two decades before convincing the government to relocate the capital. The new city took its name from the Queen Yamoussou, niece of Kouassi N'Go, who used to lead the village at the moment of French colonisation when the village had a population of 475 inhabitants.

Yamoussoukro has been called the 'African Versailles': a personal prestige project for a despot ruler. Today, Yamoussoukro functions as the nation's political and administrative capital, but the local economy is primarily based on fishing and forestry, and the transfer of government offices has been slow. Abidjan remains the economic and business heart of the country. According to the 2014 census, Yamoussoukro had a population of about 182,000 residents, while Abidjan stood at 4.7 million. However, the city, along with Bouaké and Daloa is one of the most populated one in the country.

The city comprises of four distinctive areas: administrative, educative, residential and commercial. Their rigid zoning that ignored traditional neighbourhood markets encouraged the horizontal expansion of the city by planning the multiplication of its area by 5 within 20 years. Many pilgrimages are organised at the basilica Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix. Urban amenities include a luxury hotel (Hôtel President), conference and meeting venues (La Maison du Parti and the magnificent Fondation Felix Houphouet-Boigny), a golf course, artificial lakes with crocodiles, two nature parks (Abokouamekro and Marahoué) and an international airport. Yamoussoukro is also a major transport hub which includes buses, minibuses and taxis.

source: INTI
http://www.blackpast.org/gah/yamoussoukro-cote-d-ivoire-1983
http://fortuneofafrica.com/ivorycoast/yamoussoukro-city/

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