Iowa Public Television

Global 3000

The Downside of Explosive Economic Growth In Asia (#309)

Asia's evolving cities - Hanoi in Vietnam - They are growing at breakneck speed and are hotbeds of productivity and creativity. For decades, cities like Singapore, Shanghai and Hong Kong have been in a constant state of modernization. We begin in the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi. The Vietnamese capital demonstrates what can get forgotten in the process. It is choking in traffic and is overrun by tourists. Many residents can no longer afford to live in the old parts of the city and are moving out to overspill areas. We also pay a visit to Songdo in South Korea.

Managed by computer - Songdo City in Korea - South Korea is building a new city. Songdo City will have its own central computer network to manage all aspects of life. Located 65 kilometers west of the capital Seoul on six square kilometers of reclaimed land, it will be complete in 2020.

Progress in Peru - Hydroelectric power for remote villages - Peru has been hit hard by climate change. It has seen natural disasters, damage to agriculture and water shortages. In the last 25 years glaciers in the Andes have shrunk by a quarter. And that is having a dramatic impact on water supplies. [26 minutes]

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