THE GLOBAL AND THE LOCAL

“First of all, there is a “fake prosperity” in many China’s cities. Typically, this is a result of over-exploitation of natural resources and blind capital investment. In some cities, borrowing money and selling land to property developers are the only effective ways to raise funds. But this is not sustainable…” the report added." Read the Hindustan Times article , from which the quote above, and below, is taken: “Ordos is the most extreme example of a Chinese housing bubble bursting, with unsold flats, unlet shops and empty office blocks. Most of the new buildings are empty or unfinished,” the report said. While China's government has finally realized that building and building and building can be a destructive act, when will the Nepali government come to the same conclusion? Turning on the nightly news in Nepal is like looking at a horse race amongst cement companies. Each is eager to give gift vouchers, assurances of patriotism, and now free cash. It appears th...

With increasing numbers of Nepalis working in the Gulf in low paying jobs, the dream of every returned migrant is to make a house that mimics the architectural “grandeur” (some could call it tacky ostentation and bad taste) of Gulf architecture. What most Nepalis don’t realize is that the houses they want to build—with blue glass completely enclosing boxlike structures—may be suitable for the deserts of Arabia but is unsuitable for the temperate climate of Kathmandu. Along with the glaring blue glass that is popping up everywhere all over Nepal has come the need for air conditioning, which was not necessary in Kathmandu where the mercury hovered at a moderate temperate climate. Now we have a city that has more waterless desert architecture and less of the lovely architectural wonderland which was set besides lush forests and sparkling rivers. One the temples that is affected by the roadbuilding in Kathmandu. I looked up from New Road , a dense commercial dis...

This summer, the world witnessed the extraordinary scene of a Chinese boy frying an egg on a pan on a heated sidewalk. He didn’t need a stove-all he needed to do was put the pan on the metal manhole cover.  The temperatures had reached 42 degree centigrade, lethal for some urban residents. A number of people died from the heat wave. For too long, China has taken the view that growth at all costs is the way to go. Economic growth, linked to multiple-lane highways, petrol dependent transport, tall building with glass fronts associated with “developed” economies, coal fueled factories was to be the model of progress. Bicycles, that great Chinese mode of transport, was phased out. But China has a billion and a quarter population—to imagine this population should all own their own cars (or even two cars), as in suburban America, is a mystifying and blind leap of faith in the model of modern progress. Cars belch carbon dioxide. In a city that has gotten rid of most of ...