There’s always plausible deniability in all of this along with natural change and evolution of the way people live. Physical shops are becoming a thing a the past all over the world and it can be seen clearly here in Hong Kong. One reason is that people just buy everything they need cheaply and conveniently from platforms like Taobao and even though I also lament the loss of the old way of life, the simple fact is that I can get the same things far more cheaply online and those people running the retail businesses for all those years previously made small fortunes and charged as much as they could get away with for all those years before there was an alternative. Food is also cheaper and better with far better service over the border in mainland China and what remains in Hong Kong are endless restaurant chains, selling overpriced, bland, pre-prepared foods are more often than not, also pre-prepared in China and shipped to HK.
Fitness centres have been here for much longer and seem to go through boom and bust cycles but they are certainly in a boom phase right now. For me I cannot understand why anyone would pay to go and workout in an air conditioned room of stale air doing repetitive movements on half a dozen machines when the outdoors is well within reach of the majority of people. spite HK being one of the densest places on earth, around 40% of the landmass is countryside and greenery and even in the heart of the city you can find large parks or climb up into the nearby hillside and rise above it all.
It is also likely the plan for 15 minute cities is being actively pursued by a relatively small number of people and as you go down the pyramid of command it becomes less of a clear objective and it’s more about profiting from endless development with even further down the scale offers employment opportunities. At the bottom of the scale are those who are so brainless as to actually welcome 15 minute cities as they cannot see beyond their virtual reality dominated lives - why would anyone want to be away from their screens any longer than necessary? Even my neighbours, who moved away from the urban area to our village due to affordable housing, gush about a future where the metro line will extend to the periphery of our village and bring all the “wonderful” convenience that associated development in the area this will bring. My only hope is that property prices will rise sufficiently that I will be able to sell up and have money to start again by moving to a more remote place in the hope that it will not suffer the same fate in my lifetime.
While there are always those who do their best to gauge customers, independent stores have largely been beat out of the market by chain store that have the volume of sales that allows them to enjoy economies of scale. When my dad had his camera store in our small town, as he was both owner/employer and employee, he paid income taxes twice, once for each position. When Walmart came to town, his and most other small stores failed. People would come in to his store, ask a ton of questions about various makes and models of cameras and then buy their choice for less at Walmart. They would get angry when my dad would then refuse to answer their questions on the new camera. He would tell them to take back to where they bought it. Invariably, they would would reply with, “But they don’t know anything.” My dad would just smile.
Now, with on line shopping, brick and mortar stores can’t compete as they have rent or mortgages, utilities and payrolls that online sellers do not have to pay.
I agree that most who are building the 15 minute cities probably do not agree with them, I doubt they even know.
I used to think that much of the change was due to just the natural process of modernization. I am less sure now. Why would a government that publicly decries the death of its rural communities then enact policies that force gas stations in these communities to go out of business? Either they have greatly increased the the tolerance for ignorance or their actions belie their words. Given all else that changed, I suspect the latter is true.
I agree - I would not mind so much if the changes to the retain landscape we are experiencing were due to a natural, organic change and while that might partly be true, those in power are using it to further their agenda of total control. Although I continue to buy online, I do try to patronise local businesses when I can. A recent example was when I urgently needed a rubber O-ring and I paid many times the price I would’ve paid if I’d ordered online. Also try to eat out in the few remaining independent restaurants and recently went to one local place that is one of the very few cash only businesses remaining (they have a big sign on the door as you enter). The food is ok but nothing special and prices are reasonable.
There’s always plausible deniability in all of this along with natural change and evolution of the way people live. Physical shops are becoming a thing a the past all over the world and it can be seen clearly here in Hong Kong. One reason is that people just buy everything they need cheaply and conveniently from platforms like Taobao and even though I also lament the loss of the old way of life, the simple fact is that I can get the same things far more cheaply online and those people running the retail businesses for all those years previously made small fortunes and charged as much as they could get away with for all those years before there was an alternative. Food is also cheaper and better with far better service over the border in mainland China and what remains in Hong Kong are endless restaurant chains, selling overpriced, bland, pre-prepared foods are more often than not, also pre-prepared in China and shipped to HK.
Fitness centres have been here for much longer and seem to go through boom and bust cycles but they are certainly in a boom phase right now. For me I cannot understand why anyone would pay to go and workout in an air conditioned room of stale air doing repetitive movements on half a dozen machines when the outdoors is well within reach of the majority of people. spite HK being one of the densest places on earth, around 40% of the landmass is countryside and greenery and even in the heart of the city you can find large parks or climb up into the nearby hillside and rise above it all.
It is also likely the plan for 15 minute cities is being actively pursued by a relatively small number of people and as you go down the pyramid of command it becomes less of a clear objective and it’s more about profiting from endless development with even further down the scale offers employment opportunities. At the bottom of the scale are those who are so brainless as to actually welcome 15 minute cities as they cannot see beyond their virtual reality dominated lives - why would anyone want to be away from their screens any longer than necessary? Even my neighbours, who moved away from the urban area to our village due to affordable housing, gush about a future where the metro line will extend to the periphery of our village and bring all the “wonderful” convenience that associated development in the area this will bring. My only hope is that property prices will rise sufficiently that I will be able to sell up and have money to start again by moving to a more remote place in the hope that it will not suffer the same fate in my lifetime.
While there are always those who do their best to gauge customers, independent stores have largely been beat out of the market by chain store that have the volume of sales that allows them to enjoy economies of scale. When my dad had his camera store in our small town, as he was both owner/employer and employee, he paid income taxes twice, once for each position. When Walmart came to town, his and most other small stores failed. People would come in to his store, ask a ton of questions about various makes and models of cameras and then buy their choice for less at Walmart. They would get angry when my dad would then refuse to answer their questions on the new camera. He would tell them to take back to where they bought it. Invariably, they would would reply with, “But they don’t know anything.” My dad would just smile.
Now, with on line shopping, brick and mortar stores can’t compete as they have rent or mortgages, utilities and payrolls that online sellers do not have to pay.
I agree that most who are building the 15 minute cities probably do not agree with them, I doubt they even know.
I used to think that much of the change was due to just the natural process of modernization. I am less sure now. Why would a government that publicly decries the death of its rural communities then enact policies that force gas stations in these communities to go out of business? Either they have greatly increased the the tolerance for ignorance or their actions belie their words. Given all else that changed, I suspect the latter is true.
I agree - I would not mind so much if the changes to the retain landscape we are experiencing were due to a natural, organic change and while that might partly be true, those in power are using it to further their agenda of total control. Although I continue to buy online, I do try to patronise local businesses when I can. A recent example was when I urgently needed a rubber O-ring and I paid many times the price I would’ve paid if I’d ordered online. Also try to eat out in the few remaining independent restaurants and recently went to one local place that is one of the very few cash only businesses remaining (they have a big sign on the door as you enter). The food is ok but nothing special and prices are reasonable.
What is the website you referred to?
I am not sure which one it was as it was a long time ago, but it might have been “Watts Up With That”.
Thanks.
US politics seems to be de-emphasizing climate change lately. This issue is not popular among the voters. I know I am sick of it.
They are still pushing it in Japan.