The World of Environmental Design
Notes from environmental design observers around the world.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Green China Rising?
From August 2003 until July 2005, I had the opportunity to live and work in the southern autonomous region of GuangXi, China. The capital city Nanning is a good example of a part of the world that is undergoing dramatic change.
Over the nearly 2 years spent in this region, I have come to some conclusions about China's environmental design future.
First, is the apparent disregard for the impact of one's own actions on others. Before arriving in the populous country on Earth, I hypothesized that with so many people living so densely, the Chinese must be culturally atune to dealing with large crowds effectively. To my surprise the exact opposite is true! After being nearly spit on and experiencing people and cars stopping really wherever they please completely unaware of anyone around them, I have only to say that people here really do not think about one another. If that is fact, then how on Earth can one expect people to stop and think about their environmental impacts!
One visit to a bank or for that matter nearly any cashier line-up and the reality is forcefully evident. And the pattern of "fending for yourself" is characteristic of the larger flow of society. Although I'm sure many Chinese would suggest helping a person (or for that matter animal/plant whatever) in need, they would finish the sentence with the implied conclusion that it must be somehow their (it's) fault and not their or "the government's" responsibility.
Second, the cultural acceptance of the "party line" is so unbelievable for any country at the beginning of the 21st century (only further illustrating the absolute closure and disconnect with the rest of the world until recently). This has translated into a fantastic billion strong conglomeration of energy and work to build a modern country. Ironically, it may also one day be called upon to "fix" the many environmental problems that are being created in the first wave of development. Likewise, it cannot be ignored that the "development" may actually produce net positive results in population control and environmental destruction...the latter is still unclear.
In conclusion, I have confidence that although there appear to be some significant cultural and behavioural hurdles to overcome, the government (if intact after all of this) may have remarkably more control and power over the people of this vast country that any other western counterpart and thus may be better prepared to deal with environmental degradation than many other parts of the world.
More to come...still living it and watching.
Alex Joseph
Canadian in Nanning, China
Over the nearly 2 years spent in this region, I have come to some conclusions about China's environmental design future.
First, is the apparent disregard for the impact of one's own actions on others. Before arriving in the populous country on Earth, I hypothesized that with so many people living so densely, the Chinese must be culturally atune to dealing with large crowds effectively. To my surprise the exact opposite is true! After being nearly spit on and experiencing people and cars stopping really wherever they please completely unaware of anyone around them, I have only to say that people here really do not think about one another. If that is fact, then how on Earth can one expect people to stop and think about their environmental impacts!
One visit to a bank or for that matter nearly any cashier line-up and the reality is forcefully evident. And the pattern of "fending for yourself" is characteristic of the larger flow of society. Although I'm sure many Chinese would suggest helping a person (or for that matter animal/plant whatever) in need, they would finish the sentence with the implied conclusion that it must be somehow their (it's) fault and not their or "the government's" responsibility.
Second, the cultural acceptance of the "party line" is so unbelievable for any country at the beginning of the 21st century (only further illustrating the absolute closure and disconnect with the rest of the world until recently). This has translated into a fantastic billion strong conglomeration of energy and work to build a modern country. Ironically, it may also one day be called upon to "fix" the many environmental problems that are being created in the first wave of development. Likewise, it cannot be ignored that the "development" may actually produce net positive results in population control and environmental destruction...the latter is still unclear.
In conclusion, I have confidence that although there appear to be some significant cultural and behavioural hurdles to overcome, the government (if intact after all of this) may have remarkably more control and power over the people of this vast country that any other western counterpart and thus may be better prepared to deal with environmental degradation than many other parts of the world.
More to come...still living it and watching.
Alex Joseph
Canadian in Nanning, China
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