Next most livable place?
By Li Jing (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-09-22 13:58 Yin said nearly 72 per cent of survey respondents said they will choose the
northern part of the city as a residential area in the future, and the Olympic
factor is among the major reasons for the choice.
"We can infer the future of the central Olympic district from the current
conditions of the Yayuncun neighbourhood," Yin told China Daily. Yayuncun was
the site of the 1990 Asian Games and it is now a major residential area adjacent
to the Olympic district. Yayuncun ranked third in the livability survey.
"Yayuncun before 1990 was almost the same as the Olympic district today," Yin
said. "Hosting the Asian Games brought tremendous opportunities to the
development of Yayuncun, and the effect of the Olympic Games would be even
greater."
However, Yin admitted that the real upgrading of living conditions in the
Olympic district also depends on overall improvements in the quality of life all
over the city.
Beijing's streets are clogged with traffic as the number of cars keeps
soaring day after day. Air quality, after years of steady improvement, faces the
risk of worsening in some categories and Beijing continues to rank among the
worst cities in the world for clean air. The city's water supply is so stressed
that neighbouring provinces have to send millions of cubic metres of water to
the thirsty city.
"Promoting a healthy environment is one of the goals of the Olympic
Movement," Yin said. "I hope the 2008 Games will bring Beijing a more efficient
traffic network, a higher living quality and a greener
environment."
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