Comments on: Rethinking Urban Policy With China at Our Back http://citiwire.net/post/1119/ Leaving behind the 20th century pattern of cheap energy, endless automobility, burgeoning suburbs, threatened inner cities. To a challenge-packed 21st century: energy prices headed north, perilous carbon emissions, deepening have-have not divisions. But a time of exciting promise, too. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:05:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Gonzalo Camacho http://citiwire.net/post/1119/comment-page-1/#comment-681 Gonzalo Camacho Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:31:34 +0000 http://citiwire.net/?p=1119#comment-681 Interesting article and commentary. A couple personal thoughts: In what city of the US would the government be allowed to demolish thousands of residencies to give way of a new urban environment i.e. high rises? The cost of economic development in China is reflected in its negative impact on the environment i.e. air quality concerns for the Beijing Olympics. To my knowledge relocation within China has to be government approved, thus rural people moving to the big cities looking for work is sanctioned by the government. Regardless, there are significant lessons to learn from China due to its tremendous growth. One of the most significant differences I have found between the US and China is that China leaders understand the issues and are working hard in addressing quality of life and economic issues, short and long term - long term means long, 50 years plus. Similar long term thinking is something I have not observed in the US. Interesting article and commentary. A couple personal thoughts:

In what city of the US would the government be allowed to demolish thousands of residencies to give way of a new urban environment i.e. high rises?

The cost of economic development in China is reflected in its negative impact on the environment i.e. air quality concerns for the Beijing Olympics.

To my knowledge relocation within China has to be government approved, thus rural people moving to the big cities looking for work is sanctioned by the government.

Regardless, there are significant lessons to learn from China due to its tremendous growth. One of the most significant differences I have found between the US and China is that China leaders understand the issues and are working hard in addressing quality of life and economic issues, short and long term – long term means long, 50 years plus. Similar long term thinking is something I have not observed in the US.

]]> By: Robert Gailor Justic http://citiwire.net/post/1119/comment-page-1/#comment-679 Robert Gailor Justic Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:27:03 +0000 http://citiwire.net/?p=1119#comment-679 A friend just sent me a pessimistic email that begins with this hypothesis, " A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the piblic treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. Great nations rise and fall. The people go from bondage to spiritual truth, to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependance, from dependence back again to bondage." I would appreciate your comments on this theory. I myself am not that pessimistic, but I believe that we need some drastic measures to return our country to greatness. China has built it greatness by destroying its enviroment. I have been there from Shanghai to Lasha and have seen their rivers running green, with algie, or black with chemicals and with old coal power plants' smoke oblirating the sun. They are trying to change by doing things like the three gorges dam, rebuilding their coal power industry with existing Syngas technology and building four Nuclear power plants per year; and projects to capture clean water from the south and west. I hope they succeed but I am afraid they are going to kill themselves. On the other hand we have the appathy that I have pointed out above. We need leadership from the government or better yet from private industry. How about being lead by the power and oil indusrties, to rebuild our energy systems? This is not going to be accomplished by putting all our eggs in the wind and solar power basket. We need to build 100-200 Nuclear Power plants within the next 50 years, 2-4 per year. To do that we need to rebuild our steel industry. We can do both of these without destroying our enviroment. I love your idea of city states with mass transit systems and high speed rail systems connecting them for commerce and travel. We have to have steel and power to build and run such a beautiful system. Some people feel that such an ambitious effort would require a public effort on the scale of WWII. I pearsonally believe that such an effort would allow us to fully employ our society from the poor to the unemployed craftsmen as well as build our skill pool of engineers and scientists. The spinoff industries like electric cars, and chemicals from oil for building materials that would allow us to quit destroying our forests would help provide employment. I believe that our country will wake up if we are provided with the leadership. Dr. Robert Justice Retired Chemical Engineer from Shell Oil Company Kingwood, Texas A friend just sent me a pessimistic email that begins with this hypothesis, ” A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the piblic treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. Great nations rise and fall. The people go from bondage to spiritual truth, to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependance, from dependence back again to bondage.” I would appreciate your comments on this theory. I myself am not that pessimistic, but I believe that we need some drastic measures to return our country to greatness. China has built it greatness by destroying its enviroment. I have been there from Shanghai to Lasha and have seen their rivers running green, with algie, or black with chemicals and with old coal power plants’ smoke oblirating the sun. They are trying to change by doing things like the three gorges dam, rebuilding their coal power industry with existing Syngas technology and building four Nuclear power plants per year; and projects to capture clean water from the south and west. I hope they succeed but I am afraid they are going to kill themselves. On the other hand we have the appathy that I have pointed out above. We need leadership from the government or better yet from private industry. How about being lead by the power and oil indusrties, to rebuild our energy systems? This is not going to be accomplished by putting all our eggs in the wind and solar power basket. We need to build 100-200 Nuclear Power plants within the next 50 years, 2-4 per year. To do that we need to rebuild our steel industry. We can do both of these without destroying our enviroment. I love your idea of city states with mass transit systems and high speed rail systems connecting them for commerce and travel. We have to have steel and power to build and run such a beautiful system. Some people feel that such an ambitious effort would require a public effort on the scale of WWII. I pearsonally believe that such an effort would allow us to fully employ our society from the poor to the unemployed craftsmen as well as build our skill pool of engineers and scientists. The spinoff industries like electric cars, and chemicals from oil for building materials that would allow us to quit destroying our forests would help provide employment. I believe that our country will wake up if we are provided with the leadership.

Dr. Robert Justice
Retired Chemical Engineer from Shell Oil Company
Kingwood, Texas

]]> By: Mayraj Fahim http://citiwire.net/post/1119/comment-page-1/#comment-669 Mayraj Fahim Thu, 16 Jul 2009 23:52:52 +0000 http://citiwire.net/?p=1119#comment-669 You make very good points. But, I think there is more to learn from in China. China has metro regional govetrnance of the order genrally missing in the United States. They acted on the belief-as seems evident from their actionsthat Americans might talk about on websites like this, namely that:integrated units at local level create an integrated economy that is key to rapid economic transformation. Whereas, there might be urban-rural divide (which is true here as well), citiwide Beijing ranked number one as the most egalitarian city on the planet according to a recent UN report. Taking into account the massive migration from the rural areas, of the order not seen in America in a long time, that means the integrated federated system of Beijing is working. That same report noted inequity in US cities rivals those of Arica! But, then U.S. cities lack the integrated federated framework in city cores, so one shouldn't be surprised. Where inequity has been reduced in the U.S. is in the bintegrated federated system that is the Twin Cities Metro. Mind you inequity remains;but, it has been reduced. Of course Twin Cities hasn't mastered the economic improvement aspect that Beijing could give it lessons on. Meanwhile. Twin Cities can teach Beijing about sharpening the redistribution mechanism to reduce the rural-urban divide. One should also keep in mind China has thousands of rich villages;so maybe it should also focus on developing more of those! You make very good points. But, I think there is more to learn from in China. China has metro regional govetrnance of the order genrally missing in the United States. They acted on the belief-as seems evident from their actionsthat Americans might talk about on websites like this, namely that:integrated units at local level create an integrated economy that is key to rapid economic transformation.
Whereas, there might be urban-rural divide (which is true here as well), citiwide Beijing ranked number one as the most egalitarian city on the planet according to a recent UN report. Taking into account the massive migration from the rural areas, of the order not seen in America in a long time, that means the integrated federated system of Beijing is working. That same report noted inequity in US cities rivals those of Arica! But, then U.S. cities lack the integrated federated framework in city cores, so one shouldn’t be surprised.
Where inequity has been reduced in the U.S. is in the bintegrated federated system that is the Twin Cities Metro. Mind you inequity remains;but, it has been reduced. Of course Twin Cities hasn’t mastered the economic improvement aspect that Beijing could give it lessons on. Meanwhile. Twin Cities can teach Beijing about sharpening the redistribution mechanism to reduce the rural-urban divide.
One should also keep in mind China has thousands of rich villages;so maybe it should also focus on developing more of those!

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