Thinking big for large population in Beijing

Comments on Mark Beeson "Thinking big in Beijing", 21/07/2015

Well, it seems very scary to think about it, particularly given the environmental problems such as air, water, soil and food pollutions so serious that cause many to die of pollutions, or as the consequences of pollutions.

However, the future may be much brighter in China, because the Chinese have realised the prices they have paid and are taking measures to rectify their mistakes including pollutions. Yes, it will take time to achieve and complete their goals, but nevertheless they have embarked on that road and are doing things in that direction.

Once pollutions are no longer a problem in China, who knows the so called megalopolis may or may not work.

Certainly, when the skyscrapers first appeared in large cities in America, its population was probably less than or about one tenth of China's current population. American large cities may have tens of million of population.

Now let's move to China with, let's say, ten times of Then America's population, maybe China will create proportionately greater cities, as long as it does not encounter serious dis-economy of scale when it scales up.

Of course, we are not used to that yet and in many countries it won't happen and won't have to happen. But some countries are different and so large, like China and India. Even in some countries, although their population may not as that large, the population density can be equally high. They, the Chinese or the Indians, may create a new way of living for human beings.

If the Americans created the currently prevailing large cities landscape in the past, China may pioneer a new horizon for the future of megalopolis cities.

PS: I went back to see what comments Mark Beeson's post had got on the day, 22/07/2015, following my initial comments and found the comments by Tony Xiao very interesting. What Xiao argued implies that Mark Beeson may have got the fact wrong based on incorrect understanding what is meant by the Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei project. Here is what Xiao had to say:

"The main thusts of the project is first to cap the populaion of Beijing at 23 million by 2020, second to raise the economic development of Hebei, third to move government non-core business and industry out of the Capital and fourth to coordinate the development of Northern ChinaAll the the major centres of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei will be linked by rail, air and road transport hubs and two major express ring roads (7th ring road) one 1250 kms and one 940 kms long encompassing Beijing,Tianjin and Hebei cities are already under construction.Some of the 130 million urban population of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei will need to relocate but most will wake up in their own beds once the project is realised. The price tag is estimated at 42 Trillion RMB.No-one is packing more people into a smaller space. The space is the same and so too the 130 million already there.A similar smaller scale proposal is being considerd for the Pearl River Delta."

I subsequently made further comments as follows:

Tony, what you are saying is that Mark Beeson got the fact wrong, based on a incorrect understanding of what it is meant by linking the few major cities together? In another word as you said, people will wake up after the completion of the proposed project in virtually the same beds and in the same locations, perhaps with relatively minor or few changes to where they live?

That would have been a huge oversight by Mark Beeson. I would rather suggest that is the result of misunderstanding due to a loss in translation/interpretation of Chinese to English.