Case Study: The Inevitable Downfall Of Macau

The Inevitable Downfall of Macau

Hendrick de Leewuw described Macau as home to “all the riffraff of the world, the drunken shipmasters; the flotsam of the sea, the derelicts, and more shameless, beautiful, savage women than any port in the world. It is a hell” (Osnos). While this quote from Leewus’ book Cities of Sin dates back to the 1930’s, this quote represents the lifestyle that has made Macau the global attraction it is today. Macau’s history as a Portuguese colony has allowed it to retain some of its more liberal traditions, namely gambling, which has prompted a period of unprecedented urban growth. However, like much of China, this kind of rapid growth is accompanied with some unfavorable characteristics. Some of these undesirable
In 1557, a permanent Portuguese settlement was established and would remain in their control until Macau’s sovereignty was transferred to the People’s Republic of China on 20 December 1999 (Osnos). Macau’s history as a Portuguese colony is crucial in understanding the territories legal attitude towards gambling. Gambling has been legal since the 1850’s (Osnos) since the Portuguese government legalized it. When Macau’s sovereignty was transferred to China in 1999 it was allowed to keep some of their traditions under Portuguese law. Gambling was one law that Macau was permitted to retain and the effects of this freedom are what drives this city
One example of this is that, among young professionals, traffic problems appear to cause the most concern in Macau according to a survey by Macau Polytechnic University (Zhidong). Macau has a small geographic territory of 27.5 square kilometers. And with Macau’s popular tourism industry, transportation and the increase of vehicles quickly becomes a problem. In 2004 Macau had 142,583 motor vehicles and one could assume that this number has drastically increased since this study (Zhidong). There are certain areas of Macau’s roads known to drivers as “black spots” which are areas that indicate bad road planning. Furthermore, traffic lights are infamous for imperfect timing, increasing the chances of accidents and making pedestrians especially prone to accidents and injury (Zhidong). Although Macau has seen financial success, the government seems to be doing little to improve the human and physical environment regarding traffic and transportation issues. However, the failure of the government to heed the needs of its citizens goes much further than just