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Old Posted Jun 30, 2007, 6:25 AM
superchan7 superchan7 is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: San Diego & Cupertino (CA), Hong Kong
Posts: 345
Quote:
Originally Posted by Muji View Post
But there is so much more to a city than its skyline! Central business districts with little or no mixed-use development are some of the most sterile places imaginable, despite how flashy they look from a distance. In terms of human scale and pedestrian-friendliness, Taipei is miles ahead of any Chinese metropolis that I've been to (perhaps with the exception of Hong Kong).

Granted, I have never been to Shanghai, but from what I've seen, I'd much rather meander through the crowds of relatively low-rise Xinyi than walk through a desolate superblock in Lujiazui.

While it can't boast of as many megaprojects as its fellow East Asian cities, Taipei has actually done a pretty fantastic job with its urban development over the last few decades.
Central Taipei is indeed quite human-friendly and quite well redeveloped, but once you leave the few precious blocks of downtown the whole world turns upside down.

Suddenly there are no sidewalks, and even if there were they are blocked by parked motor scooters. Elevated highways straddle right on top of some main avenues, blocking all sunlight and trapping exhaust fumes from trucks and buses. Pedestrians are often forced to share the road with heavy vehicular traffic because of the lack of open sidewalks.

Central Taipei definitely has a decent urban environment, but outer Taipei has a long way to go. I can't speak for the rest of Taiwan's cities. I would like to disagree on Xinyi, though. It does feel like Lujiazui--some huge malls, a lot of vehicular traffic, a wide and dreary environment...and a pain to walk.
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