| I feel optimistic about China. Mega-Projects are exciting and many have the potential (especially rail and roads) to dramatically affect the economy. I am from Boston, where we recently completed the "Big Dig", which was called by many "the last [American] Mega-Project." Of course there are always questions about whether or not such large amounts of money could be better spent, though I notice that these are all transportation projects, which almost everyone agrees are a big part of an efficient economy. Finally, I hate Heathrow airport, and much prefer Hongqiao to Pudong, though I still like Pudong better than Heathrow. But there are a lot of people in China, and probably a few big airports is better for the environment and the sanity of the people who live in a city than a million small ones. PD almost makes the inconvenient size into a poignant sense of alienation rather than just being a ratty mess with extremely low ceilings (every time I go to Heathrow, I thank god that Yao Ming plays basketball in the US instead of in England. He would probably have to use a wheelchair to get around that airport. I haven't seen the new Heathrow terminal, though.) |
Mega-Projects and Raising Power of China