Monocle, an international magazine covering culture and design, listed Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) among the world’s top urban leaders in its July-August issue.
Hu “thinks big,” the magazine said, under the headline “Ten Urban Leaders — Mayors Rethinking the Way Cities Expand, Move, Compete and Breathe.”
PLACE OF CULTURE
Hu’s large-scale infrastructure and economic developments have been applauded, Monocle said, but his key strength is in turning a city known for crime and prostitution into a place, where, as Hu says, “culture permeates all levels of society.”
Hu has brought Zaha Hadid, Chinese director Zhang Yimou (張藝謀) and cellist Yo-Yo Ma (馬友友) to Taichung.
He has also set out plans for a futuristic opera house designed by Japanese architect Toyo Ito, the report said.
CRIME
It said Hu’s most prominent success was seeing the crime rate drop 60 percent since 2001, the year he was elected mayor for his first term.
Hu said on Tuesday he was surprised and flattered to be cited by international magazine as one of the world’s 10 urban leaders.
“I’m glad that the Taichung City Government’s efforts to go global has caught the eyes of the world,” Hu said.
WORK NOT DONE
He said that despite the improvements in Taichung’s social order, such work is never done.
The mayors of the other nine cities listed in the magazine were those of Nagoya, Japan; Holon, Israel; Houston, Texas; Stockholm, Sweden; Oost, the Netherlands; Madrid, Spain; Phoenix, Arizona; Barranquilla, Colombia; and Perth, Australia.
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