Paris Raises $42 million to keep out McDonald’s and other Pop Ilk

by Neil Woodburn on

Every few months we revisit the “cultural invasion” theme here at Gadling. You know the one: an angry populace somewhere on the other side of the planet fighting against the arrival of a Starbucks or McDonald’s and the subsequent death of local culture which will arise as a result.

This week, we cruise on over to Paris, France (big surprise!) where local Parisians are battling the onslaught of foreign pop culture in their own special way. The concern here is for the future of the bohemian Left Bank. This swath of bookstores and cafes is practically hallowed ground in the French capital; the arrival of a McDonald’s would be almost sacrilegious.

To prevent this from happening, the local city council has established a fund of more than $42 million to prevent large corporations from muscling in. The money is to subsidize the sale of any building in the area so that only bookstores, cinemas, and other bohemian ventures can purchase the property and move in. Large companies will simply be barred from the market.

I rather like this idea! I’m not sure it’s legal, but I fully support the cause nonetheless. Viva la bookstore! Death to Ronald McDonald! Or, something like that.

Slums Are Home to Almost One Billion People

by Iva Skoch on

I spent some time in London this week. The city has a special place in my heart and that’s not only because the Tate Modern gallery is located there. Although it’s a big part of it. This power-plant-turned museum can–perhaps like no other modern art museum–truly catch the Zeitgeist.

Fortunately, I was able to catch the very last day of the Global Cities exhibit; a fascinating expose of the changing faces of ten global cities: Cairo, Istanbul, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Mumbai, Sao Paolo, Shanghai and Tokyo. It explores how each of them deal with its size, diversity, density, form and speed of growth.

Interesting stats:

  • In 2007, for the first time in history, one out of every two people in the world will be living in a city
  • One of of three city dwellers (almost one billion) currently live in slums
  • Cities produce 75 percent of the world’s carbon emissions
  • London is the world’s 360th fastest growing city, adding only 2.3 residents an hour
  • Shanghai is the 8th fastest growing city in the world, adding 29.4 new residents each hour
  • 66 percent of the population of Sao Paolo is under 20 years old
  • Cairo’s residential density is 36,500/km2, nine times more than London’s
  • Tokyo is the largest urban region in the world with 34 millions people, 80% of which use public transportation daily (comparing with 10% of LA residents)

Fascinating!