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Build a city for the future? Bhutan’s plans could inspire the world
The Himalayan kingdom in the clouds seeks an alternative vision of what sustainable urban life could be like – with a down-to-earth pragmatism, too.
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It was only in the 1970s that the fourth king of Bhutan introduced the concept of gross national happiness, which takes a holistic view of development.
PHOTO: PEXELS
Karen Tee
Something interesting is brewing in the heart of the Himalayas. Bhutan, the world’s most mountainous country, recently held its inaugural Bhutan Innovation Forum to kick-start its ambitious project of building a new city called Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC)
The innovation forum, held in October in Paro – a historic town west of the capital, Thimphu – gathered some of the world’s most prominent intellectuals, including the economist and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, French scientist-turned-monk Matthieu Ricard and acclaimed Danish architect Bjarke Ingels. They discussed what they imagine a modern and enlightened city would be like.
