Can you recognise this city? What hemisphere does it belong to? Which continent? Which cultural group? What language do you think they speak as the lingua franca?
Please post your guesses and I will provide further clues to the city’s identity.
22 thoughts on “What place is it?”
Tian Yuan
En…. I am not sure which country it is. Because I have not been to most of the countries(!)
But I can say which countries it may not be:
(1) It may not be China’s city, the reason is: in the centural city there is a big wetland, which is rare to see in resent Chinese city. One possiblity is in Shanghai, there is a Yanzhong Greenspace, but it is not in this simple style.
(2)It may not be in London, because I have been most of the parks there, moreover, the skyscrapers are too crowded ,which will never be in the UK.
Can I guess it is a city in America, because it is a little bit like the feeling of Centrual Park. Is it?
This is my idea of an excellent Christmas/New Year game! I might have guessed France but on account of the third hint I will go for a French-influenced country: Canada. It remains the world centre for nineteenth-century bedding and I think this is what the red patch (centre left) must be. So how about Montreal, where they speak the Lingua Franca? I have spent only half a day in Canada but I think French Canadians are more willing to live in residential blocks, which Americans will do only if they are in dense city centers.
Well. I am very sorry to disappoint you Tom – and I will have to take the blame here – in my rush to answer Tian I gave a misleading reply.
(3) is not the right continent (whoops) because it is not in the right hemisphere.
So to correct my blunder somewhat I will say that the city on the South American continent. (So Tian it in some way is an American city…just not a north American one!)
I have not even spent half a day in South America but here goes: it does not look either hot humid or hot arid so I will guess ‘south of the River Plate’. But I am still interested in the the bedding, if that is what it is, and will go for Chile – and ask for another clue if this is wrong.
No not Chile, but yes south of the river plate. The citizen’s of the city say that the city has a European influence and that the summers last nearly all year. The city is renowned internationally.
So, with the information you have – I viewed the presentation on the Green City Index – it should be easy to guess which Brazilian city (clue disclosed because of my geographical error!) has a superior sustainabilty performance.
With that useful hint I will go for Curitiba. Then I will confess that I have never heard of it! The Wiki entry on Curitiba represents it as a very interesting place. But the EIU report leaves me puzzled as to how it won the sustainability award. It seems to have done so with its policies on air quality and waste management (see chart on p.19). I would like to see many more inter-city sustainability charts – and I can’t help thinking that ‘developing’ countries would score higher than ‘developed’ countries. In India, for example, every scrap of waste is re-cycled and non-mechanised transport is very common. Nor do they spend too much on heating or air conditioning, yet.
It interests me that Curitiba has increased the amount of green-space per person from 1m2 to 52m2. Curitiba is usually used as an example of why cities should increase inner city densities (…sometimes sensibly along transit corridors) but often at the expense of green-space.
This Turkish article says Istanbul currently has 6.4m of green-space per person although this is reducing. The average for a European city is said to be 20m of green-space per person.
It is surprising to see Amsterdam has 45.4m2 per person, Rome 45.3m2 and Stockholm 87.5m2 per person of green-space.
So, it would seem Stockholm should do very well in Sustainability terms? It would be interesting to understand how these per person green-space measures are constructed! (ie parkland, public garden, private garden, yard, wilderness, green roof etc.)
The old and widely adopted NPFA standard (despite what the Wiki article says) was 7 acres of open space per 1000 people (= 28 m2 person). In London the figures range (relying on memory) from about half a metre/person in the very popular borough of Islington to about 50m/person in the much less popular borough of Greenwich. But there is even more open space in the very-popular borough of Richmond upon Thames. So what does this prove? It proves that different people have different tastes and preferences.
See: Analysis of London open space and landscape planning.
I always wonder why people never admit that we are living in an artificial world, not the wild nature. I agree that “an agument for open space standards based on nature conservation would be stronger than an argument based on human needs”. but I also what to know: WHY?
I have edited the Wiki entry to clarify that Egological goods are ‘are a sub-category of Public goods’. Public goods are an interest of mine.
Enjoyment of games and sport are private goods and the case for paying for them from taxation is questionable. We do not use taxpayer money to let people watch football, so why should we use taxpayer money to let people play football? But nature conservation is an ecological/public good and should therefore be paid for by taxpayers.
One of the main reasons for creating public parks in the UK was to provide football pitches for the poor. You now have to pay if you want to rent space for an organised game of football in a public park but the cost is heavily subsidised by the taxpayer. One could argue that this is justifiable because sport makes people healthier, and that public health is a public good, but this would apply to every other type of sport. I am not in favour of taxpayer-funded golf courses, but why pay for football if we are not going to pay for golf?
The difference between public and private goods is an interesting distinction and perhaps not as easily made as it would seem at first.
For example public health is a public good which is supported by a health system comprised of hospitals etc. But it was not always so. At different stages of history access to medical care was variously public (through the traditional healer) [ http://altmed.creighton.edu/AKNative/%5D and private (through the service of doctors who made house calls).
Perhaps the distinction of public health is best made through the phenomenon of disease epidemic
where keeping the individual healthy is seen to benefit the collective.
[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemic ]
I would suppose in Scotland there is a greater public good in supporting golf than football?
En…. I am not sure which country it is. Because I have not been to most of the countries(!)
But I can say which countries it may not be:
(1) It may not be China’s city, the reason is: in the centural city there is a big wetland, which is rare to see in resent Chinese city. One possiblity is in Shanghai, there is a Yanzhong Greenspace, but it is not in this simple style.
(2)It may not be in London, because I have been most of the parks there, moreover, the skyscrapers are too crowded ,which will never be in the UK.
Can I guess it is a city in America, because it is a little bit like the feeling of Centrual Park. Is it?
(1) is correct. (2) is correct. (3) is the right continent.
Thanks, Oh, my feeling is always perfect! But which city it acturally is please, I am eager to know.
This is my idea of an excellent Christmas/New Year game! I might have guessed France but on account of the third hint I will go for a French-influenced country: Canada. It remains the world centre for nineteenth-century bedding and I think this is what the red patch (centre left) must be. So how about Montreal, where they speak the Lingua Franca? I have spent only half a day in Canada but I think French Canadians are more willing to live in residential blocks, which Americans will do only if they are in dense city centers.
Well. I am very sorry to disappoint you Tom – and I will have to take the blame here – in my rush to answer Tian I gave a misleading reply.
(3) is not the right continent (whoops) because it is not in the right hemisphere.
So to correct my blunder somewhat I will say that the city on the South American continent. (So Tian it in some way is an American city…just not a north American one!)
I have not even spent half a day in South America but here goes: it does not look either hot humid or hot arid so I will guess ‘south of the River Plate’. But I am still interested in the the bedding, if that is what it is, and will go for Chile – and ask for another clue if this is wrong.
No not Chile, but yes south of the river plate. The citizen’s of the city say that the city has a European influence and that the summers last nearly all year. The city is renowned internationally.
Christine, I cannot guess. I am waiting the final answer. I hope Tom can give a correct answer before Chinese New Year.
Buenos Aires?
What if I said the mayor of the city is very famous in sustainable city fora?
This clue led me to the Economist Intelligence Units Green City Index for Latin America – but the winners all seem to be north of the River Plate.
Whoops sorry you are right Tom. Locating the River Plate when you mentioned it in your previous comment was quite tricky…I thought it was further north. [ http://www.chw.com.uy/info_1.htm ][ http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/americas/south_america_pol98.jpg ]
So, with the information you have – I viewed the presentation on the Green City Index – it should be easy to guess which Brazilian city (clue disclosed because of my geographical error!) has a superior sustainabilty performance.
With that useful hint I will go for Curitiba. Then I will confess that I have never heard of it! The Wiki entry on Curitiba represents it as a very interesting place. But the EIU report leaves me puzzled as to how it won the sustainability award. It seems to have done so with its policies on air quality and waste management (see chart on p.19). I would like to see many more inter-city sustainability charts – and I can’t help thinking that ‘developing’ countries would score higher than ‘developed’ countries. In India, for example, every scrap of waste is re-cycled and non-mechanised transport is very common. Nor do they spend too much on heating or air conditioning, yet.
It interests me that Curitiba has increased the amount of green-space per person from 1m2 to 52m2. Curitiba is usually used as an example of why cities should increase inner city densities (…sometimes sensibly along transit corridors) but often at the expense of green-space.
This Turkish article says Istanbul currently has 6.4m of green-space per person although this is reducing. The average for a European city is said to be 20m of green-space per person.
It is surprising to see Amsterdam has 45.4m2 per person, Rome 45.3m2 and Stockholm 87.5m2 per person of green-space.
So, it would seem Stockholm should do very well in Sustainability terms? It would be interesting to understand how these per person green-space measures are constructed! (ie parkland, public garden, private garden, yard, wilderness, green roof etc.)
Oh…and good deduction Tom!
The old and widely adopted NPFA standard (despite what the Wiki article says) was 7 acres of open space per 1000 people (= 28 m2 person). In London the figures range (relying on memory) from about half a metre/person in the very popular borough of Islington to about 50m/person in the much less popular borough of Greenwich. But there is even more open space in the very-popular borough of Richmond upon Thames. So what does this prove? It proves that different people have different tastes and preferences.
See: Analysis of London open space and landscape planning.
Hmmm. From the history of open space planning it seems the focus of standards was anthropocentric – human recreation & leisure rather than the requirements of ecology or nature. [ http://www.business.uts.edu.au/lst/downloads/open_space_standards_2008.pdf ]
I think an argument for open space standards based on nature conservation would be intellectually stronger than an argument based on human needs.
I always wonder why people never admit that we are living in an artificial world, not the wild nature. I agree that “an agument for open space standards based on nature conservation would be stronger than an argument based on human needs”. but I also what to know: WHY?
I agree Yuan that some aspects of garden design could hardly be classified as wild nature
[ http://www.resimler7.com/tum/doga/Wallpapers_-_Nature_9_-_Garden_Maze__Orlando__Florida.jpg ]
However, there is the ecological goods and services viewpoint [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_goods_and_services ] which says that a healthy ecosystem is essential for our survival as well as for the continued functioning of biological systems.
I have edited the Wiki entry to clarify that Egological goods are ‘are a sub-category of Public goods’. Public goods are an interest of mine.
Enjoyment of games and sport are private goods and the case for paying for them from taxation is questionable. We do not use taxpayer money to let people watch football, so why should we use taxpayer money to let people play football? But nature conservation is an ecological/public good and should therefore be paid for by taxpayers.
One of the main reasons for creating public parks in the UK was to provide football pitches for the poor. You now have to pay if you want to rent space for an organised game of football in a public park but the cost is heavily subsidised by the taxpayer. One could argue that this is justifiable because sport makes people healthier, and that public health is a public good, but this would apply to every other type of sport. I am not in favour of taxpayer-funded golf courses, but why pay for football if we are not going to pay for golf?
The difference between public and private goods is an interesting distinction and perhaps not as easily made as it would seem at first.
For example public health is a public good which is supported by a health system comprised of hospitals etc. But it was not always so. At different stages of history access to medical care was variously public (through the traditional healer) [ http://altmed.creighton.edu/AKNative/%5D and private (through the service of doctors who made house calls).
Perhaps the distinction of public health is best made through the phenomenon of disease epidemic
where keeping the individual healthy is seen to benefit the collective.
[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemic ]
I would suppose in Scotland there is a greater public good in supporting golf than football?