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As a matter of construction and land use, yes, but as a matter of people, watch out! U.S. urban planners tried this approach from the 1950s-1980s and the results were neighborhoods of high-rise, high-crime slums. I urge China to learn from this experience - and not to fool themselves by thinking that an engineer can do the job of a really good architect.
I'm not against skyscrapers. Indeed, I think that skyscrapers surrounded by large green spaces would transform cities for the better. But building huge empty ones can drive rentals down, forcing landlords into bankruptcy and paradoxically causing neighborhoods to decay, making matters worse. There are ways to deal with these problems but I don't know if the Chinese do so.
Engineers certainly were like kings in 19th- to mid-20th century America. Presidents, generals, publishers, preachers, all spoke with awe of the new marvels achieved: canals, steamships, bridges, automobiles, skyscrapers, roads, machine factories, water systems...It must be like a king to be a civil engineer in China isnt it
You people have really shown the world that nothing is impossible provided you must have passion to work consistently .
china is trying to show how great they are.
have most of the biggest buildings in the world, have the biggest army, the most culture, be the best at art, sports etc..
china is wanting to shine like a beacon like it is better then every other country and people in the world.
china's sense of nationalism is profound, it is a real belief that china is greater then anywhere else, that they as a race are superior to others, that they are destined to rule the world.
so they try to project that and have aggressively expanded this thought into material things. they are asserting themselves...
it has happened many times in history, we have seen this kind of thing time and time again...
It must be like a king to be a civil engineer in China isnt it
You people have really shown the world that nothing is impossible provided you must have passion to work consistently .
I don't know if China is building too much or not; I just hope China is thinking things through. I can still remember the time I got into a discussion with one Chinese scientist who said it was fine for China to build lots of nuclear reactors, they could just dump the waste in the Gobi, didn't even need to bury it, nobody would care...and in America we have problems with politicians who like new projects more than adequately funding maintenance for existing ones. Hidden or denied costs tend to pile up, then lead to sudden bankruptcy. That's what happened to New York City in the 1970s and it took intervention by the federal government to save it.
Rather than skyscrapers that may remain empty for a generation why not plan new parks, green spaces, and community centers? Rather than celebrate a new factory why not advocate emissions-control systems on existing ones? Instead of new hydropower dams why not build smaller ones to control water pollution from mines and agricultural runoff?
Everyone is so get-rich-quick....you've forgotten the patient industrial investment of your ancestors. Chinese potters laid down kaolin pits that took a century to mature. They knew they would never use them but their great-grandchildren would, just as they used the pits laid down by their great-grandfathers.
Thanks. If I have the opportunity I'll repeat your response to the Chinese student who told me that China was advancing by doing everything itself with nobody's help and following nobody's example!You should know that China is just following the path you had gone through 100 years ago. We are not in a same step of development so it makes no sense to judge China in your point of views.
Thanks. If I have the opportunity I'll repeat your response to the Chinese student who told me that China was advancing by doing everything itself with nobody's help and following nobody's example!
I don't know if it's a language problem but it's pretty clear that it is Chinese, not Americans, who decide how China develops and thus it is Chinese, not Americans - or Americans' past - who are responsible for decisions that turn out badly....my point is, when you westerners blaming China, your are actually blaming yourself at past. Since most of those social problems are structural problems which is inevitable if you want to advance...
What I really wanna say is, some foreigners and Chinese dissidents blindly attribute China's problems to the system of government. It seems like every problems are caused by CCP, but actually they happen in almost every emerging countries.I don't know if it's a language problem but it's pretty clear that it is Chinese, not Americans, who decide how China develops and thus it is Chinese, not Americans - or Americans' past - who are responsible for decisions that turn out badly.