Kwekwe to the geographical centre of the country, Kwekwe is also strategically located within the Midlands metropolitan area. Kwekwe, together with Gweru, Munyati, Kadoma and Redcliff form a single customer base for local commercial enterprises. As elsewhere in Zimbabwe, a high proportion of the population depends on the informal sector, possibly more than half of the population. Many self-employed miners carry out illegal digging work just north of the city, panning for gold, one of the most lucrative sources of income. Other residents engage in less strenuous work as cobblers, carpenters, TV and radio repairmen, and vendors selling anything from onions
New towns in the United Kingdom towns, around 20,000 population each — at least 5,000 homes — are planned to be "carbon-neutral" and will use locally generated sustainable-energy sources. Only one site was identified in the announcement: the former Oakington Barracks in Cambridgeshire - the already planned Northstowe development. Local councils will be invited to provide sites for the remaining four towns. The Town and Country Planning Association is advising the government on the criteria and best practice in developing the eco-towns by producing a series of "worksheets" for developers. In September 2014 the CBI called for all political parties to commit to building 10 new