The Future Of The East Asian Cities

Four of the world's largest metropolitan areas — Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo — are [in East Asia], as well as eight of the 10 tallest buildings... The effects of sudden affluence and extremely high population densities — three or more times greater than New York — have undermined the Confucian values that were the foundation of these cities.

...Despite their remarkable successes, however, the future of East Asian cities is not promising. The prolonged emptying-out of rural villages and small towns has eroded the family-oriented Confucian value system that animated first-generation migrants to the city.

At the same time, the soaring price of land has eliminated the hope for all but a few of acquiring anything spacier than a cramped apartment. Private homes have been replaced by huge complexes of high-rise apartments, some located an hour or two from the city center. Blocks of suburban apartments can extend as far as 50 miles from historic cores."

Thanks to Chris Steins