What Makes a great city? Brighton's a city, though I don't really think of it as one, nor does it feel like one. Manila's a proper city, but its not great. You need several things to make a city great. To stand out from the crowd. A setting helps, I'll grant you Brighton has this, nestled between the Downs and the sea like a great amphitheatre. Manila doesn't really mange it. Melbourne is supposed to be one of the nicest places to live on the world, but not to my mind great, Adelaide is a fantastically beautiful city. The centre is ringed by lovely parks and rivers. It misses out to. Quirks are important, transport is one. London has something special. Yes other places have mas transit systems but none have the style of the tube. Many are (Hong Kong's for example) are faster, cleaner, and far more efficient but they don't have the character. Route masters and red post boxes - something that makes it stand out is required. Quirky transport helps. Manila has this the Jeepnees. Panama has it with is catholic 'n' bling converted American school buses. But misses out on the setting and another pre-requisite. Architecture - quirky but taste full helps. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I know. But every now and again something stands out. Tower Bridge, the Opera House in Sydney, the statue of liberty, the Eiffel tower. You can throw out pretty much all the skyscrapers they're too many of them. A great city need to have all of these things. Old does help but doesn't cut it. How many times in movies has the skyline of LA been used? Eugh, looks horrible. The Hollywood sign yes, but the massive grid of horrid skyscrapers puts me right off. Looks like a badly over played game of sim city.

Night View 

Hong Kong makes the cut. The hills on the island and behind Kowloon hem in the skyscrapers the looming bridges in the heat haze. The over size funicular railway up the peak, the star ferry and the mish mash of skyscrapers at all angles with the web of flyovers and walkways nestling under the hills. The escalator, the mid levels escalator. A crooked corridor of escalators ascending the hills crossing some streets flying over others. Only Sydney and its Harbour, bridge and opera house have made more of an impression. Few cities can you enjoy by doing nothing. The high rises of LA I was just vomiting over seem to work here. They have an organic quality rising at all angles out of the hillsides.

in short I like it. More to follow. Video's and pics in production.