Pri's blog

Reading the Metro paper on the tube this morning I learned that Singapore, the city that our planners in Colombo are emulating,   is the most expensive city in the world.   Another news item about the transformation of London’s infrastructure (London is the 16th most expensive city in the world) suggests ideas actually WORTH emulating.  Talking about changes to the road infrastructure it says… …..  This programme is part of wider plans expected to help create 5,000 new homes and 4,000 new jobs in the area.  A public consultation will begin later this month and work will start early next year. [my emphasis]  ….  In addition, the IMAX roundabout at Waterloo will be redeveloped to create better facilities at Waterloo station as well as improved facilities for cyclists . [my emphasis]  All this to ensure that London “remains one of the most economically productive, vibrant, accessible and attractive world cities”. Creating ho...

A couple of days ago some of us were talking about all the changes that were happening in Colombo. As readers of this blog might have noticed, these changes do not happen without some heartache for many of us old residents, though of course the real impact is on those residents who are being displaced or losing their homes and whose voices are not always heard on the likes of this blog.  For them it is much, much worse.  But read more about that here . Our recent conversation was whether the beautification, a component, albeit a small component,  of the Metro Colombo Urban Development Project funded by the World Bank and which is, in essence, a flood control project was being monitored in its implementation, especially its accelerated CHOGM implementation.  We rather cynically observed, that if the new developments had not taken issues of drainage into account, they could result in more flooding, which of course would go contrary to the whole objectives of the p...

Here as promised a gist of what I said at the 6th South Asian Economic Summit's Managing Urbanisation Inclusively   session... The background to the session seemed to suggest that being ‘inclusive’  is about the rural-urban gap, looking at ways in which the rural labourers, left out of the growth that is being generated by the cities, are able to benefit from that growth.   The result of this is a labour force which remains predominantly agricultural and rural, while a small proportion of the population – that which is urban and more highly-skilled  enjoys the benefits of growth and integration with the global economy. What I wanted to point out in this session was that growth within cities is not equal either.  If one begins to talk economics as if people mattered, then one would see that urban development is beginning to transform city space, and relationships between people living in the city, in ways  that privilege some city dwellers an...

see this video from Vikalpa also just to confirm that it's all flattened - kovil and laundry - here's a photo from last week

I spent two weeks in Singapore at the end of February with a friend who was having radio therapy. Enjoyed it, inspite of myself. But there are somethings that are very disturbing. For instance, everything in Singapore is manufactured, to near perfection maybe, but manufactured and unspontaneous nevertheless. Take the Night Safari, the Jurong Bird Park , both leisure centres, manufactured for the recreational needs of Singaporeans. Why travel to the Mara or to Serengeti or to Kruger when its been brought right into your neighbourhood? Take the trees, many of them rootballed from the Malaysian forests I am told, planted always in a row, with branches growing like the arms of dancers in a synchronised ballet. Take the most frightening manufacture - Singapore Firepower, proudly "better, smarter and more lethal" (My paper, Thursday, February 21) Showcased at the Singapore Airshow during the time of my visit. First of its kind, the Redback Weapon System - a lightweight multibarrel ...