Latest comments posted about What happens after the Olympics? on ChinaDialogue en-gb http://www.chinadialogue.cn/article/show/single/en/1274-What-happens-after-the-Olympics- http://staging.chinadialogue.net/images/cdlogo.gif http://www.chinadialogue.cn/article/show/single/en/1274-What-happens-after-the-Olympics- With many years of experience working and living in Europe and Japan, I agree with Mark's comment, number 11. The most distinguishing feature of city planning in Europe and Japan is small size, or human dimensions, making it easy for people to travel without cars. Isn't it that our government always call for human-oriented governing? Why is our city planning is still following the big size/car dimensions of the US? We have a population as much as 4-5 times as big as the US, and we can't afford to waste resouces and space like that. Instead, our adjacent country Japan, with its similar population density, should be the example for China to follow. Fri, 07 Sep 2007 03:50:52 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.cn/article/summary/1274#comment-4350 http://www.chinadialogue.cn/article/summary/1274#comment-4350 One of China's fatal diseases is to copy America blindly, which should be reflected upon and regretted for, seriously. However, as the most economically powerful country, the United States should be accountable in the case of China's pollution. This is such a selfish and superficial country, that it rarely stands up to take responsibilities. It transfered lots of its pollution-intensive industries to China. And some American multinational companies, like Coca Cola, have been operating against China's Environmental Law for a long time, doing damages to the lives of local residents, ignoring orders from local government and expending their territories as always, without the slightest hesitation. Thu, 06 Sep 2007 02:41:12 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.cn/article/summary/1274#comment-4335 http://www.chinadialogue.cn/article/summary/1274#comment-4335 What I find interesting in this article and the discussion is that the Olympics are highlighting the long term problems of the way Beijing (and other cities in China) have been allowed to develop. Beijing has spread -- like an American city -- with big road building projects, distant suburbs, people having to travel long distances to work. None of this is sustainable. One of the keys to sustainable cities is to develop communities that don't rely on cars, don't require people to commute for hours and which have necessary economic activities close to where people live. The way it has been done in Beijing was already long outdated when Beijing's recent development got underway -- it's the "modern idea" of fifty years ago, heavily promoted in the 20th century by car manufacturers and oil companies for their own narrow benefit. It doesn't work. No matter how many roads you build, they all end up congested. The economic losses incurred by traffic delays and by bad air are paid by all the citizens and all the businesses -- they just don't know it. China should not follow the failed experiment of most US cities. Europe is not perfect but it offers a much better model of how to live in urban communities: more public transport, dedicated cycle lanes and more compact living. Mark Linton, Milan Mon, 03 Sep 2007 13:28:12 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.cn/article/summary/1274#comment-4318 http://www.chinadialogue.cn/article/summary/1274#comment-4318 After next year, there will be a battle over food and water. Everything Beijing does now is for the Olympics. One can deduce that the lives of ordinary Chinese have no value in this process. The improvement of environmental pollution is a crucial task for the long-term, not just for the Olympics. Yet the tragic thing is that Chinese people live in darkness without sunlight; that counties and municipalities lacking water must still provide water to the "emperor" [Beijing]. It seems that these other counties and municipalities are not considered human. The value of human life there is downgraded. It is tragic! Sun, 02 Sep 2007 02:55:20 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.cn/article/summary/1274#comment-4311 http://www.chinadialogue.cn/article/summary/1274#comment-4311 Commenter number 4 unfortunately is spreading more of the lies about Beijing's public transport that are so typical of Beijing's car drivers. The fact is that despite the limitations of the subway system, Beijing's public transport is excellent and rapidly improving- and yes, that does include the buses. The article mentions Tongzhou, which began developing as a satellite town- or at least as a dormitory suburb- before the Beijing government even announced its plans for decentralisation. In addition to the Batong light rail line which connects with the subway at Sihui, there are a multitude of bus routes connecting Tongzhou with the CBD. The 938 buses which cover all of Tongzhou and take the expressway from Tongzhou into the CBD generally arrive in the CBD only half an hour after they leave Tongzhou Beiyuan. Not only is the public transport in Beijing excellent, it is still, despite reports to the contrary, quite easy to cycle in the city (although Beijing's selfish, arrogant drivers can make life interesting for cyclists)- and encouraging more people to get out of their cars and on bikes would work wonders for Beijing's rapidly expanding waistlines and rapidly deteriorating state of health. Sorry, but I'm tired of these pathetic excuses. The blame for Beijing's terrible traffic and much of its air pollution rests squarely on the shoulders of Beijing's drivers and their arrogant selfishness. Sun, 02 Sep 2007 06:38:19 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.cn/article/summary/1274#comment-4312 http://www.chinadialogue.cn/article/summary/1274#comment-4312 Environmental protection should be taken as equally important as economic growth. The fine for water pollution is only 1 million yuan (about 66,606 pounds) which I think is nowhere near enough. What we need is more severe punishments. Aside from the economic costs caused by water pollution, diseases caused by it have made millions of people suffer. Therefore, I think those who cause serious water pollution should maybe even be executed. Fri, 31 Aug 2007 07:18:44 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.cn/article/summary/1274#comment-4306 http://www.chinadialogue.cn/article/summary/1274#comment-4306 Even in our capital city Beijing, it is so difficult to resolve environmental problems, let alone other provinces.. Fri, 31 Aug 2007 07:12:40 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.cn/article/summary/1274#comment-4305 http://www.chinadialogue.cn/article/summary/1274#comment-4305 I totally agree with the author. Beijing should distribute the use of venues. Instead of holding conferences only in The Great Hall of the People, other venues could be considered to hold conferences. I live nearby Tian’anmen Square. Every time when there’s a conference going on in The Great Hall of the People the whole street will be blocked. I can’t enter until the conference ends. It usually takes me more than half an hour waiting. If I happened to be in a taxi, it would cost more than 10 yuan (about 1 pound), which is pretty expensive. Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:02:51 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.cn/article/summary/1274#comment-4290 http://www.chinadialogue.cn/article/summary/1274#comment-4290 Good point. “why Beijing bid for the games, rather than another city with a smaller population and greater water resource?” Beijing is already overcrowded, overstaffed and too huge. When in the 2008 Olympics, if there were not any measures taken to curb the commutes of residents, I am afraid the city will explode under the pressure of population. Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:05:52 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.cn/article/summary/1274#comment-4291 http://www.chinadialogue.cn/article/summary/1274#comment-4291 It seems that the above two readers don't know the public transportation situation in Beijing very well. In Beijing, it is not a good idea to own a car, because the traffic is always terrible. However it is worse if you don’t have a private car, because the metro line is not big enough and many places are out of the reach of metro. Talking about public transportation, you have no idea how crowded and how dirty it is. And too often you have to wait in the cold wind for more than half an hour, or even an hour, to get on a bus. Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:06:44 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.cn/article/summary/1274#comment-4285 http://www.chinadialogue.cn/article/summary/1274#comment-4285