Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
around the same time as Todd. In 1994, the Hong Kong developer and Stan-
ford graduate Gordon Wu built the Guangzhou-Shenzhen expressway, based
on the New Jersey Turnpike.
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As in the 1950s United States, the car is a cultural symbol of Chinese
middle-class attainment, and highways the symbol of modernity. But, just
as in the 1950s scourge of urban renewal, which the famed urbanist Jane
Jacobs argued ripped apart central cities and tight-knit local communities in
favor of the car, the psychological and human impact of the auto boom on
the Shanghai landscape is immense. What diff ers now, in An Ting, is the
idea that, through “German engineering,” problems of climate change can
be ameliorated by “superior” technology. Despite the attention to detail and
high technology, fewer than 10 percent of the houses in An Ting were occu-
pied, although most of them were sold.
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northern exposure?
If cars in An Ting represent one end of the ecological spectrum, on the other
end lies Luo Dian, one of the environmentally themed towns, described
either as Scandinavian or Northern European. Golden Luodian Develop-
ment, the investor behind Scandinavia Town, and SWECO, the builder,
emphasize how environmentally friendly it is. According to one description
of the town, “Luodian is a green, luxury getaway built on environmentally
friendly principles imported from Sweden.”
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h e surrounding area of Luo
Dian is a mixture of wetlands and dusty roads lined with hardware stores
and scrap metal businesses. h e area set aside for the new community, how-
ever, has been reforested, complete with a residents-only lake, marina, and
golf course complex. h e town cost almost eight hundred million U.S. dol-
lars to construct. Homes in Luo Dian cost fi ve million yuan (U.S. $730,000)
and apartments cost 580,000 yuan (U.S. $85,000).
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Local media reported,
as of 2009, that only eight of the forty-eight villas and 120 apartments had
been sold.
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At the same time, in 2009, Luo Dian was named a United Nations
