Urban Hayride

Protest and the City

It is suggested by some, ridiculous as they may be, that urbanization and socialism go hand-in-hand.   I would argue that nothing could be farther from the truth.  It's not as if a wave of democracy and capitalism has taken over the Arab world, yet, but I ask: Would this movement have even been able to begin if it were not for the dense urbanization of the Arab countries? 

Chinese Prosperity

This New York Times article makes me think that many more Chinese need to drive in rush hour traffic before making any more transportation decisions.  

Two years ago, Guangzhou proudly announced that the number of cars on its roads had reached 1 million. The metropolis of 10 million people has several auto factories, and aspires to be China's Detroit. Last year, 180,000 new vehicles hit the city's roads, the government said. That's nearly 500 a day.

From an economic standpoint, this makes perfect sense, right? Car manufacturing certainly supports more jobs than bicycling manufacturing, or repair.  With a population of 1 billion+, those in the industry are poised to make significant amounts of money.  It's hard to argue against such growth.  So long as the Chinese government supports such rapid dissemination of the automobile, that growth will not slow down.  What does this mean for China's urban landscape in the future? 

Given China's history with the bicycle, used purely out of necessity, not an efficient, fashionable, eco-friendly, (whatever your reason), mode of transport, the desire for autos makes sense.  It's a shame really - will the Chinese like sitting in traffic as much as most Americans seem to enjoy? 

 
Moderation; everything in moderation...

Cycling Style (via Rumors in Richmond)

I ran across this article (via Rumors) while browsing RVA Blogs.  Good stuff; check out the links to some similar pages from around the world.

 

We Americans put gorgeous women on top of cars; Italians are putting gorgeous women on bikes. Dig.

Cycling blurb

From a 2007 article in Britain's New Statesman:

...a certain class of young male who will slow down his car as he passes any cyclist, and laugh derisively. When this happens to me, I try to tell myself that I am the future and these young men are the past. It’s a strategy that will work eventually, I believe.

I'd be lying if I said this hasn't crossed my mind on several occasions.  At least now I'm not the only one.

French Capitalism

The U.S. should never follow the "French model" when it comes to capitalism and commerce.  I think I've heard that before, you?  After all, hasn't part of that country's demise been - you know, the 35 hour work weeks and quasi-socialist political structure, etc.

So, it's interesting that President Sarkozy has this to say regarding ceilings on executive pay:

Mr Sarkozy refused to follow President Obama in setting a ceiling for the salaries of bankers whose firms had been bailed out by the government. He said that successful managers deserved their pay but that he was shocked by the system of pay enjoyed by financial traders. Story here

Successful managers deserve their pay - well, not that all executives are worth the some $20 - 30+m. in salary, but that's what the market calls for I suppose; and what the respective boards allow.  How many of those executives will now simply leave and join firms not accepting government money?  How many of the rank-and-file will follow them there or to their own, new firms?

This is a competitive move for France; now they can not only boast their beautiful cities and attention to the built environment, but...are a beacon of capitalism? Shocking to say the least.