Philip Kennicott and China

Kennicott is not one of my favorite Post writers (writes mostly on architecture and more generally on arts in general. ) Today he reports on a visit to Shanghai, a mega-city (defined as 10 million plus). An excerpt:

In China you also have to remember the larger statistic: the total population of more than 1.3 billion people. In the shadow of that number, statistics about private space in Shanghai -- since 1990, the average amount of living space, per person, has increased from 8 to 15 square meters (86 to 161 square feet) -- become rather ominous.

Personally, I'm more inclined to marvel--doubling living space in the Chinese context, even if limited to the east coast, is amazing when I remember the Korean war propaganda (human wave attacks of subhuman type soldiers). Rising standards of living are a cause for satisfaction, not discontent. Yes, there's misery in cities but on average people migrate to urban areas because they can improve their circumstances. More people living better is good.