I have lived in Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco but I have never seen anything like Beijing. Over the next two weeks, I'm giving a series of talks at Tsinghua, Peking University and the Lincoln Institute, and the CASS. While I was little surprised to see Mao's face on all of the money and to not be able to access my blog, I have been very impressed with everything I see and I see glimpses of a future "green city".
Beijing
Rising Wealth and the Emergence of New Global Cities
New world cities are emerging, and the "first truly urban century" will be shaped by the way increasing wealth is handled in places like Mumbai, Bangalore, Shanghai, Beijing, Sao Paulo and Dubai.
Forbes
Sprawling in Beijing
Beijing could be heading towards a sprawling future, according to a new report from the World Bank. Despite expanding transit options, the location of jobs is pushing more people out from the center of the city.
The New York Times Style Magazine
Can Infill Save Beijing?
After an unstoppable run of megaprojects being built with an eye on the Olympics, architects are now designing smaller, human-scale projects in between the cracks.
Asia Times
As World Expo Host, Shanghai Aims for Bigger Splash Than Beijing
As the host of the 2010 World Expo, Shanghai is sparing no expense. Civic investment and projects are expected to eclipse those of Beijing when it hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics.
The New York Times
London's Big Stadium Gamble
Tue, 06/30/2009 - 10:57
The Olympics can be awesome for cities. Or they can be devastating. Rarely they're both, and most often they are an economic drain caused by over-investment in facilities with limited long-term usability. So when London's plans for a 2012 Summer Olympics stadium that would reduce from 80,000 seats during the games to a more realistically usable 25,000 seats after, Olympics experts, city officials and taxpayers rejoiced. But recent news has turned that rejoice to disgust.
Beijing's Olympic Pollution Efforts Fall Short
Despite efforts to clean up Beijing during last year's Olympic Games, pollutant reductions were very minor, according to a new report.
ScienceNOW Daily News
Who Really Needs A World Cup
Wed, 04/15/2009 - 23:38
Whether you've realized it yet or not, soccer is a big deal in this gloabalizing world. And every four years it's a huge deal for one country: the host of the FIFA World Cup. All eyes are on the host country for the 32-team tournament, which is the most-watched sporting event in the world. And though showtime is just one month long, the host spends years vying, preparing and investing for the tournament. It has major potential to spur broad countrywide improvements and economic development. So when the U.S. made news recently by offering forth 70 stadia as possible host sites for either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup (along with a reputation booster from President Barack Obama), I had to filter out my national pride. Sure, the U.S. would make a good and clearly able host for the event, but it seems that the potential of the World Cup could be better directed towards a country that really needs large-scale civic improvement and investment.
Beijing Extends Car Restrictions
A slightly watered-down version of the traffic reduction methods the Chinese city of Beijing instituted in Summer 2008 to reduce congestion and pollution during the Olympics has been extended for another year.
Associated Press
Olympic Park Still Serving Beijing
The Olympic Forest Park in Beijing is standing out as one of the rare Olympics-related projects to remain in use after the 2008 event. Hu Jie, the park's designer, talks about its planning and the role of public space in Beijing.
Bangkok Post
The Planetizen News Brief - 2/26/09
4:30 minutes (4.17 MB)
China's Olympic building bust, America's struggling small towns, and why those small towns represent the future of the U.S. -- all on this week's Planetizen News Brief, airing every week on the nationally-syndicated radio program "Smart City". Read, listen or download.
Emptiness in Beijing After Olympic Building Boom
The 2008 Summer Olympics brought a boom of construction to host city Beijing. But now, six months later, much of the office space built in the lead up to the games sits empty -- and likely will for years.
Los Angeles Times
Beijing Adds 1,466 New Cars Daily
For the first month and a half of 2009, the amount of new cars added daily in Beijing has climbed from 1,350 in 2008 to more than 1,450, bringing more than 65,000 cars into the city so far this year.
Agence France Presse via Grist
Beijing Disappearing
Wrecking crews continue to clear the old hutongs of Beijing, replacing them with modern streets and skyscrapers. Meanwhile, a handful of scavengers work to save pieces of history from the wreckage.
The New York Times
Beijing's Grey Shade of Red
Mon, 01/05/2009 - 10:01
As an avowed urbanist, I would venture that, with thanks to Will Rogers, I never met a city I didn't like. I can usually find something captivating in the crookedest medieval alleys, most absurd strip malls, and most squat skylines. I've been to Paris, Berlin, Dallas, and Des Moines, and I've loved them all. Until Beijing.
Planners Need to Treat New Orleans Like Beijing and Dubai
This article from The New York Times contrasts the rapid development of cities like Beijing and Dubai, while New Orleans continues to struggle in its Hurricane Katrina recovery effort.
The New York Times
Beijing Sees Brighter Future Than Athens
As the Olympics leave town, Beijing appears to be in a much better position to benefit from the games than previous Summer Olympic host Athens.
Yahoo Sports
Beijing's Temporary Clean Air Policies May Stick
With some of the its cleanest air in decades, Beijing is warming up to some of the pollution-cutting regulations officials have enacted during the Olympics. Some may become permanent.
China Daily
Olympic Games Not Performing For Beijing Businesses
The economic boost expected from Olympics-related tourism has fallen way short of predictions in Beijing. Many business people blame the government's stringent visa-granting policies.
The Christian Science Monitor
China Says Car Bans Will Stop After Olympics
Despite improved air quality, China says it has no plans to continue the car control measures it has enacted during the Olympics to clean the city's air.
Reuters
