Comments by "" (@krollpeter) on "OBF" channel.

  1. Most of the German cities that were originally founded by the Romans were founded as army camps and fortresses. They did not need to be pretty, the cities were build around them later. Medieval German cities and towns are not planned as grids. They are planned with bends, angles and distances that reflect the usage of the houses and made them purposeful for the activities of the people who lived there. For example, a short distance to a place that was needed nearby. Straights are found to the central places, usually the market place with church (to get the people there quicker there, and to transport the goods from outside to the central market). Today Germans say, that the layout of these places have something deeply homely, cosy, human, something that makes them very attractive ... but most are not aware why. There is a German video that explains what I claimed above, but it's only available in German language. Grid is shxt.
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  2. The COE is under heavy criticism. It punishes car ownership, while a system according to car usage would be more according to economical and ecological principles. Also it favours wealthy people and bigger cars. The public transport system is certainly good, but not as good as the stories everywhere told. For example, if it rains it can be difficult finding a transport. Also, the "automatic" monitoring, hmm, I think cost cuttings and maintenance problems sometimes cause break-downs, which can result in very bad effects, because it's a network in the end. The HDB houses are anything than cheap nowadays. Of course, they are cheaper than the insanely priced private housing. But cheap, that was many years ago. To my personal opinion, a 99 year "ownership" is nothing else than a leasehold with upfront payment, not ownership. The history of Singapore in terms of street culture and architecture is widely erased for the sake of everything being clean and well organized. But what is lacking is that certain atmosphere, that makes a country unique, and sometimes also a certain havoc factor. Well, that all sounds as I am very negative, however, I think for a density populated place like this, Singapore government has done a great job overall, and keeps on doing good things, as also mentioned in the video. I personally would have sacrificed a bit of growth for more "homeland" in exchange, but I am sure that this is something people can quarrel about to no end.
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