Comments on: Cité Bourgogne http://www.urbanphoto.net/blog/2008/04/19/cite-bourgogne/ Exploring urban life through word and photography. Fri, 16 May 2008 19:42:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.1.1 By: Mary Soderstrom http://www.urbanphoto.net/blog/2008/04/19/cite-bourgogne/#comment-154843 Mary Soderstrom Wed, 23 Apr 2008 13:33:53 +0000 http://www.urbanphoto.net/blog/2008/04/19/cite-bourgogne/#comment-154843 When I was in Shanghai three years ago I was told that until quite recently about 80 per cent of Shanghai residents lived in this kind of developoment (also called longtang from the word long, meaning alley or lane ) but that they were being raxed rapidlyl to make room for new high rise aparatments and green spaces. The idea was (and stil is, I gather) to make 35 per cent of the city green space.) You mention potted plants in the little courtyeards, and i also was struck by the small gardens with vines growing over doorways and tomatoe plants which would make gradenrs in Monreal's Petite Italie proud. There is an imitation, Disney=fied version of these skikamen blocks called Xitiandi which appears to be purelly for tourists. It's right next to the museum in the former girl’s school where the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China met in July 1921. Quite an irony, it seems to me. But the skikamen blocks that I wandered into were all nicely tended, and while people gave me the eye--what's that older white woman doing here?--I got many smiles and no hassles, as I recount in Green City: People, Nature and Urban Places. I'd love to go back and see what has gone up in the spaces that were under construciton when I was there. Cheers Mary When I was in Shanghai three years ago I was told that until quite recently about 80 per cent of Shanghai residents lived in this kind of developoment (also called longtang from the word long, meaning alley or lane ) but that they were being raxed rapidlyl to make room for new high rise aparatments and green spaces. The idea was (and stil is, I gather) to make 35 per cent of the city green space.) You mention potted plants in the little courtyeards, and i also was struck by the small gardens with vines growing over doorways and tomatoe plants which would make gradenrs in Monreal’s Petite Italie proud.

There is an imitation, Disney=fied version of these skikamen blocks called Xitiandi which appears to be purelly for tourists. It’s right next to the museum in the former girl’s school where the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China met in July 1921. Quite an irony, it seems to me.

But the skikamen blocks that I wandered into were all nicely tended, and while people gave me the eye–what’s that older white woman doing here?–I got many smiles and no hassles, as I recount in Green City: People, Nature and Urban Places.

I’d love to go back and see what has gone up in the spaces that were under construciton when I was there.

Cheers

Mary

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