Unique Improvements to Beijing
I love Beijing, but every city can improve somewhat, right? New York could have bigger apartments. Atlanta could have fewer strip clubs. Salt Lake City could have more. Every city is different. But here are a few public policy choices that could help Beijing:
1. Mandate that all restaurants have more than four copies of the menu.
2. Designate “No Smoking” bike lanes. You might think that one place you would wouldn’t have to worry about smokers would be on outdoor streets. While biking. But there’s always that guy in front of you with a cigarette hanging out of the left side of his mouth and a cell phone in the right hand. And a wind is blowing directly into your face. Where else would this happen?
3. Restaurants with windows that open. Seriously.
4. Invisible air.
5. Laws. That people are aware of. And can verify.
6. No more SoHos.
7. Fewer blogs. Oh, wait. I mean more.
8. A way to pay for electricity without using a card that requires you to remember how much you’ve pre-paid, and when you might run out. Nothing worse than runnning out of electricty during Spring Festival. Unless you run out when your girlfriend is in America and may or may not have taken the card with her. At night. Not that this has ever happened to me. Just saying, that would suck.
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Yokie Kuma responds:
Posted: July 31st, 2008 at 11:31 am →
9. Taxis whose drivers are willing to work while it is raining?
chriswaugh_bj responds:
Posted: July 31st, 2008 at 12:11 pm →
Most electricity meters I’ve seen tell you how much you have left. Of course, you do have to remember to check. Still, at Spring Festival you should have a stash of combustibles to provide light and heat, right?
I would add: Less cars, and better, less arrogant drivers in the few cars that remain.
Ban the use of cellphones while cycling. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve just about been run over by some idiot cyclist who was too busy texting to watch where he/she was going.
Lee Gadye responds:
Posted: August 3rd, 2008 at 4:10 pm →
Uuuh…. what about….
DON’T LET THE FECKING TODDLERS SHIT IN THE MIDDLE OF SHIMAO TIANJIE !?!?
They should also ban metrosexuality in the CBD.
I’d like it if my building didn’t shut down the elevator at 12pm. I live on the 18th.
Decibel limits for subway announcements and all other recorded, speaker blasted messages.
Jamon responds:
Posted: August 8th, 2008 at 11:16 am →
To Lee Gadye:
DON’T LET THE FECKING TODDLERS SHIT IN THE MIDDLE OF SHIMAO TIANJIE !?!?
Hear ,Hear!
I live in Shenzhen and it is no different here. It is something that drives me nuts.
Story time!
I was at a dock out by 大鹏。Which is an area mostly beach on the west side of SZ. Being a Saturday it was very busy, people crowded everywhere trying to hire boats to get out to islands and such. Little girl (3yrs) posts up right in the middle of it all dumps right there, with her grandmother’s smiling approval. There was even a grassed area not too far away.
Four years here, i never will get used to it.