Lately we have been inundated with articles about the political entity called Chimerica, an entity likely to dominate the first half of the 21st century. The pundits disagree on how such a disparate union may hold. China is poor and capitalist, America is rich and socialist. China produces, America consumes. Both are instinctively protectionist and isolationists, but are the strongest forces of globalisation.
The secret may be that this union is changing, the Chimerica we see today will not be tomorrow's Chimerica. Will Chimerica's spirit of coopetition remain, or will China and America become rivals? Chimerica often consume more resources, and produce more pollution, than the rest of the world together. Together or separate, how will Chimerica affect our world?
This thread is about cities and civilised life; the centralised conglomeration of constructions and the people who live in or under them, as well as the people passing by; their planners, shapers, and runners; their light, their shade and activities; their impact on the world around them and on each other; citizen getting along or across with citizen; their tools, trade, and technology; their growth and decay; and whatever else it takes to finish this sentence.
Way back in the days I suggested that there should be a gamer's corner in the Lounge for the game threads, leaving The Lounge for the light-hearted etc. threads that are not games. That was generally considered to be a sensible idea, but not so sensible as to anyone ever acting on it.
In the absence of a new akh or Tamil game threads are unlikely to take over here in the same way as My Opera, but it is still probably a sensible idea. Whether sensible enough to act on I wouldn't say.
Buildings say a lot about the builders and the people who elect to use them. What buildings of this century would you like to highlight and why? Which are the best? Which are the worst? Which are interesting, which are boring? Which ones probably wouldn't be made before or after? How will they affect the neighbourhood, how would they age?
What can we say about current architecture? What should we be quiet about? What are the hopes and fears?
is on me. (over there you actually get one...)