Afrofuturism is the future that city lovers want The highly anticipated debut of the film Black Panther busted box office records over the weekend. And it?s fueled a larger conversation about what a city designed by black residents for black residents could be.
No fictional city has inspired quite as much real-world urbanist dialogue in recent memory since the future Los Angeles depicted in Her?which, it should be noted, was called out for its lack of residents of color. Indeed, the Afrofuturism of Wakanda is starkly different from the mostly white future society of Her.

Fact. The urban part of Wakanda looked nothing like the Tokyo version of futuristic cities I keep seeing, and I loved that about it. https://t.co/tuEMnJXmgd? Paola Mata (@PaolaNotPaolo) February 19, 2018
In fact, Wakanda?s capital of Birnin Zana, is like no other city of the future depicted on screen: It?s lush, textural, and tactical, with a rich variety of architectural styles, building densities, and transportation systems.

? Aaron Foley (@aaronkfoley) February 18, 2018

The kingdom of Wakanda depicted in the film is, according to the movie?s director, Ryan Coogler, actually based on a real place: The African empire of Mutapa, which was a powerful trade center encompassing the present-day countries of Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Zambia from the 1400s to late 1700s.

?A future that Tony Stark never could have dreamed of.? https://t.co/yvPEfOhbch? Broderick Greer (@BroderickGreer) February...