From Chinese Press

Give cities breathing space

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-13 08:03

Beijing residents have to spend hours commuting between home and office every day. Traffic congestion is now testing the nerves of people in the capital as well as China's other major cities. Some experts blame the high urban population density for the frequent, and rather regular, traffic jams and other traffic problems. But this is not entirely true, says an article in Guangzhou Daily. Excerpts:

Some experts say China's "urban disease" has reached a critical stage. Its urban residents' sense of happiness has been seriously degraded by problems such as regular traffic jams, skyrocketing housing prices and overcrowded hospitals. These problems are related to the high density of population in cities.

But a large population alone cannot be blamed for China's "urban disease". Big cities certainly enjoy an advantage compared to small- and medium-sized cities and rural areas in terms of social resources. The story is true of metropolises across the world such as New York, London and Tokyo, as the combined efforts of urban residents have enhanced the core competitiveness of these cities. The problem is that China's big cities, in their pursuit of fast economic growth, have attracted a lot more people than they can absorb. The result: they are overloaded. Laying too much emphasis on economic growth, these cities have compromised the well-being of their residents and made them vulnerable to many an "urban disease".

(China Daily 10/13/2010 page9)