Assessing Asia's Brand New Cities

In this piece, Greg Lindsay take a cautiously optimistic stance on whether or not from-scratch Asian cities are the way to address urban overpopulation.

1 minute read

November 26, 2011, 1:00 PM PST

By Judy Chang

"Whether out of greed, desire for prestige, or sheer necessity, instant-city builders of all stripes seem to believe new cities should conform to Moore's law: faster, better, cheaper. Just as this mentality produced the high-speed rail crash that has shaken China's faith in progress to its core, it has also produced a municipal debt bubble running into the trillions of dollars. Will the effort to build the perfect city produce the perfect economic storm instead? Even Songdo, which is widely perceived as the most successful example, has struggled under the weight of its financial burdens."

FULL STORY: Are made-from-scratch metropolises the answer to Asia’s urban overpopulation?

Saturday, November 26, 2011 in Slate

Government / Politics Land Use Technology Urban Development Asia-Pacific

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