Now we'd view a similar scene from any major city in the world as signs of a great environmental advance.
Funny how times change, isn't it?
They went with single use superblocks connected by highways. A terrible system in so many ways.
Thankfully they protected some of the old city centers and those still have the beautiful chinese urbanism.
Thankfully, leadership in China has realized that they really fucked up. Sometimes when building the 5 ring road highway that is clogged you start to rethink the problem. Funny enough by turning to Western New Urbanism:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqldZhxl86I
https://www.efchina.org/Reports-en/report-lccp-20171214-en
The book is really interesting, a great set of guidelines for city building. I don't agree with everything but its pretty fantastic.
Got any examples of China? Because Koreans follow density principles extremely well.
Many Chinese superblocks are not walkable and have no commercial and offices are also in a different place. But its not everywhere.
I don't know about Korea, no comment on that.
Actually, now that I think about it. Korea is actually migrating towards a more Chinese vibe (I call it Americanisation of their planning) where they build the buildings super far apart and make it all way less walkable but still bikeable.
The city I refer to that recently disappointed me and is brand new in Korea is Dongtan, take a look if you get a chance. I think Korea has slipped down the slippery slope unfortunately. Either that or they just haven't filled in the lines yet, but I doubt that. It's just more car-centric.
Things built 5-10 years ago weren't like this, but then neither was the car status symbol race.
On another note, Ran Prieur has some interesting thoughts on bikes as a mode of transport.
The power loom?
The electrical generator?
The steam engine?
The telegraph?
The bicycle is a "nice to have" latecomer that can only exist in a world which is already somewhat industrialized.
I'm so tired of the internet.
Anyway, yes, let me revise, bicycles are the best invention, of ALL TIME!
Power loom: ushered in capitalist mode of production, alienating us from our labor. Electrical generator: it's cool I guess. Steam engine: start of the fetishization of the engineering aesthetic. Awful. Only redeeming quality is that it gave us steam punk fiction 200 years later. Telegraph: instant communication is way overrated.
Sorry for piling on. Long weekend.
https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/738/025/db0...
Your "hyperbole" was solidly within the fat part of the bell curve of "what people of your bent say unironically". You don't get to say you were just pretending when it's called out for being absurd.
Also, poe's law is very relevant here.
>ower loom: ushered in capitalist mode of production, alienating us from our labor. Electrical generator: it's cool I guess. Steam engine: start of the fetishization of the engineering aesthetic. Awful. Only redeeming quality is that it gave us steam punk fiction 200 years later. Telegraph: instant communication is way overrated.
Once again, it's not whimsical hyperbole when there's no shortage of people saying more or less exactly the same thing unironically.
Fair enough. I am certainly of that bent, and proud (ie. smug if you prefer) about it.
I don't see irony and hyperbole as equivalent though. I am serious that bicycles are an excellent invention, certainly in the context of personal mobility, most certainly contrasted with horrid technology like cars. So unironic in that sense. But certainly hyperbole, as in, "best" invention, that's hard to determine. There's millions of axes on which to judge inventions, can't really put them all on a single line, and find "good, better, best".
> no shortage of people saying more or less exactly the same thing unironically
I was joking, doubling down on the original premise of exaggeration, I thought that was obvious.