Increased construction in UB
That UB isn't exactly your average western city is a well-known fact. That UB experiences a large influx of people coming in from the countryside each year, is also a well-known fact. Most of these people live with family or acquaintances on gazar in the ger districts. That UB is bursting at the seams, is not unexpected, and it's causing several major ecological, economic and social problems. Unemployment and an increase in crime are a few of such problems. Other problems are air pollution, the lack of waste disposal, proper housing, proper plumbing and proper water facilities.
There are now plans proposed to build a new city 24 km outside UB, to build apartment blocks in the Gandan ger district and the Yarmag ger district. I don't agree with Luke's view that building a new city sounds suspiciously like a return to Communist times. Here in Holland, we have had many such projects since WW2. However, if the government is to re-allocate people by "force" than this is going to work against them. That sounds very much like Communist times and to the practices of the Chinese government. I don't think that in a free, democratic society the Mongolian government wants to send out messages of totalitarianism and autocracy (not to use the word "dictatorship").
Building apartment blocks in Gandan ger district is yet another step to ruin the look of the city. I've photographed extensively in Gandan in winter 2004, like I had a hunch things wouldn't last. This summer I'll have to shoot more just to preserve the present for the future. The problem with most ger districts is that they have no facilities: no plumbing, no water mains, no sewers, no connection to the gas mains, and electricity is often tapped illegally. Instead of building apartment blocks and destroying the gazar where many have been living for decades, have built their lives, raised their children and built free-standing houses, the city would do better to supply these districts with the necessary facilities. Most people don't mind to live in a ger or in their own house on their own gazar and don't really feel the need to move to the 7th floor of a cold, dark, dirty apartment block. It's a well-known fact that many housing blocks and districts regularly suffer from interruptions in heat and electricity supply. In summer that means you can no longer use your refrigerator and your fan, and don't have any hot water; in winter that means you're stuck in a freezing cold house.
The plans for the Yarmag ger district entail a change in the special State protection zone that it falls under. I don't know exactly what that means but national governments don't put areas under special protection for nothing. In this case I think it's a special environmental protection zone. Abandoning that special protection will be yet another attack on Mongolia's environment in the name of "progress".
As Luke already stated, setting up yet another new district might lead to yet another poor attempt at reducing the pressure on UB proper. That this new district is planned near underground water resources, which will have to be diverted, is a clear sign that the planners have had no eye for the environment, no eye for water management and have not had the best interest for the people in mind. I'm wondering who will benefit from the sale of the land in that new district? Who are the project developers? Who are the land speculators? Call me a cynic but to me it sounds just all too fishy. Why is this new district not planned on higher ground, where underground water resources will cause much less (if any) problems? Why divert water, a resource that is already scarce in Mongolia, especially in UB? Why resort to expensive methods? Diverting underground water flows in a responsible way is expensive and demands specialist expertise; expertise that is probably not available in Mongolia.
All in all I'm not impressed with these new plans. These are plans that lack thought and have not looked at every aspect of the problems they try to tackle. Simple solutions are cheaper and can be implemented much easier and quicker. For the ger districts, connecting them to the sewer systems, the hot water system and the gas and water mains are much more effective than replacing the gazar with high-rise apartment blocks. To lighten the population pressure on UB, increasing job opportunities in the towns around UB, increasing transportation facilities (bus, light rail, roads) to UB, and increasing the infrastructure (shops, police, schools, etc.) in those outlying towns would be of more use. UB needs a proper hinterland, not more ugly concrete apartment blocks in ger districts.
There are now plans proposed to build a new city 24 km outside UB, to build apartment blocks in the Gandan ger district and the Yarmag ger district. I don't agree with Luke's view that building a new city sounds suspiciously like a return to Communist times. Here in Holland, we have had many such projects since WW2. However, if the government is to re-allocate people by "force" than this is going to work against them. That sounds very much like Communist times and to the practices of the Chinese government. I don't think that in a free, democratic society the Mongolian government wants to send out messages of totalitarianism and autocracy (not to use the word "dictatorship").
Building apartment blocks in Gandan ger district is yet another step to ruin the look of the city. I've photographed extensively in Gandan in winter 2004, like I had a hunch things wouldn't last. This summer I'll have to shoot more just to preserve the present for the future. The problem with most ger districts is that they have no facilities: no plumbing, no water mains, no sewers, no connection to the gas mains, and electricity is often tapped illegally. Instead of building apartment blocks and destroying the gazar where many have been living for decades, have built their lives, raised their children and built free-standing houses, the city would do better to supply these districts with the necessary facilities. Most people don't mind to live in a ger or in their own house on their own gazar and don't really feel the need to move to the 7th floor of a cold, dark, dirty apartment block. It's a well-known fact that many housing blocks and districts regularly suffer from interruptions in heat and electricity supply. In summer that means you can no longer use your refrigerator and your fan, and don't have any hot water; in winter that means you're stuck in a freezing cold house.
The plans for the Yarmag ger district entail a change in the special State protection zone that it falls under. I don't know exactly what that means but national governments don't put areas under special protection for nothing. In this case I think it's a special environmental protection zone. Abandoning that special protection will be yet another attack on Mongolia's environment in the name of "progress".
As Luke already stated, setting up yet another new district might lead to yet another poor attempt at reducing the pressure on UB proper. That this new district is planned near underground water resources, which will have to be diverted, is a clear sign that the planners have had no eye for the environment, no eye for water management and have not had the best interest for the people in mind. I'm wondering who will benefit from the sale of the land in that new district? Who are the project developers? Who are the land speculators? Call me a cynic but to me it sounds just all too fishy. Why is this new district not planned on higher ground, where underground water resources will cause much less (if any) problems? Why divert water, a resource that is already scarce in Mongolia, especially in UB? Why resort to expensive methods? Diverting underground water flows in a responsible way is expensive and demands specialist expertise; expertise that is probably not available in Mongolia.
All in all I'm not impressed with these new plans. These are plans that lack thought and have not looked at every aspect of the problems they try to tackle. Simple solutions are cheaper and can be implemented much easier and quicker. For the ger districts, connecting them to the sewer systems, the hot water system and the gas and water mains are much more effective than replacing the gazar with high-rise apartment blocks. To lighten the population pressure on UB, increasing job opportunities in the towns around UB, increasing transportation facilities (bus, light rail, roads) to UB, and increasing the infrastructure (shops, police, schools, etc.) in those outlying towns would be of more use. UB needs a proper hinterland, not more ugly concrete apartment blocks in ger districts.
posted by ShardsofMongolia @ 11:05 AM
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