26 April

The Chinese are experimenting with so many interesting things, it’s such a shame we can’t learn from them because of the resurgence of yellow peril politics. This is Chengdu, a city committed to using green space for a range of purposes, including flood mitigation. This high-rise development has had teething problems, with an outbreak of mosquitoes that drove a lot of people out, letting the plants run wild. But they’ll solve it. WIthin my lifetime the noise and filth of the internal combustion engine will lose its hold over our cities. I think they’ll become much nicer places.