Abu Dhabi royal confirms plans to splurge US$45bn on real estate ventures in #Karachi, including 'the tallest building in the world' #Tall—
Asad Yawar (@Mediolana) February 17, 2013
Metropolis of 21.2m still without a #metro, synonymous with crime + gridlock; #ghetto for feudal rich 'real risk' tinyurl.com/b733kfx #PK—
Asad Yawar (@Mediolana) February 17, 2013
Inequality gets more and more brazen! Well perhaps Mrs Thatcher’s trickle down effect might eventually happen, though I’m sure even she would be surprised if Pakistan became the first nation to achieve it. I wonder if this is about the strategic value of that little bit of coastline which Pakistan possesses which could always be used to take mineral resources (especially the big ‘O’) to the West from Central Asia
One of the biggest weaknesses of the GCC countries is their leaderships’ lack of basic empathy with non-GCC Asians (let alone Africans). In places like Dubai and Qatar there is a postmodern neo-feudal social structure in place, where the super-rich are tended to by the (often invisible) poor and often effectively stateless. Building a few giant gated communities in one of South Asia’s most gang-infested metropolises is, in this context, just another deal.