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Paper short abstract:

This paper will explore the tentative dynamics surrounding the realisation of these ambitious developments due to their interconnected and temporal nature being highly dependent on the political ideology, social networks, and flows of capital of elite actors.

Paper long abstract:

This paper will present findings from case studies that focus on ambitious real estate developments from diverse global contexts, which were intended to be globally significant. The Royal Albert Docks Business Hub development, in London, and the Kigamboni Satellite City Development, in Dar es Salaam. The developments focused on within these case studies are particularly interesting as they both experienced difficulties in their realisation. Thus, this paper will offer insight into underlying dynamics and difficulties concerning speculative urbanism informed by the different global contexts of the UK and Tanzania. The particular focus of this paper will be the impact of informal practices of the elite on envisioning and striving towards ambitious real estate developments, particularly in relation to the interconnected and temporal nature of this group’s political ideology, social networks and flows of capital, with the convergence of these significantly impacting whether ambitious developments are realised. Therefore, this paper will contribute to understanding the informal practices of elite actors that underpin these projects, in addition to further understanding processes of speculative urbanism. Furthermore, this paper will contend that it is not only the realisation of these projects that impacts wider societies but also their envisioning and promotion by elite actors.