Urbanism
Page 116
Drugs, guns and nice sofas
In Herat, elaborate palaces are being built by businessmen who have made fortunes from post-war opportunities. A mix of foreign influences, the houses have created a new school of design: Narcotecture.
Missing Persons
Villages across Europe are being abandoned as people move to cities. Spain knows this problem well: its Soria region has 492 empty villages. Can the country’s ghost towns ever be reborn?
Breaking China
As investors look beyond China’s eastern cities, the wealth of opportunity and resources in the remote western region means the city of Urumqi is about to take centre stage.
Build me Hong Kong
To counter competition from China, South Korea plans to build new cities to rival Hong Kong and Singapore as hubs for hi-tech services and tourism. But can the ambitious nation pull it off?
Into Africa
Once feared as a den of chaos, Tangier now lures European investors with cheap labour, tax breaks and proximity, transforming a hippie haunt into a thriving business gateway.
Schanzenviertel and Karolinenviertel
Once home to immigrants, students and punks, Hamburg’s Schanzen and Karolinen districts are now morphing into a destination of new business start-ups and buzzy bars and shops.
Two wheels good
Some 58 per cent of all journeys in Groningen are on a bicycle. Its 180,000 residents own 300,000 bikes. The Dutch city is a manifesto for getting people in the saddle.
Observation
With some cities it’s love at first sight, with others it’s third time lucky. In the case of me and Seoul, it’s more of the latter.
