It seems to me a disappointment could be in store for tourists during the Olympic Games. I think that in the stifling summer heat, many tourists will naturally flock to Tiananmen Square and be dejected that the world's biggest (and arguably most photogenic) public square offers no entertainment activities at night. It is as central a focal point and as internationally famous a landmark as can be found in Beijing. Could the Olympic party see it experimentally opened at night?

Furthermore, the city is fairly pedestrian unfriendly. Notwithstanding the city's sheer size, or the fact that bicycles, pedestrians, cars and buses coexist in a weirdly functional free-for-all (the flashing green man usually signifies "safe to cross" elsewhere in the world), I find the absence of bilingual street signage to indicate the array of culturally revealing city sights a missed opportunity. For such a vast city, its epicenter around Tiananmen is surprisingly easy to cover on foot, yet harder to navigate. If you get your bearings, (and learn how to yield to the taxis and buses as you cross the road) then more people might walk, there might be more pedestrian areas, fewer faces stuck to the windows of the subway trains, less rush, and less traffic in Beijing-something no one can argue with.

Strategic public planning should always be ambitious in its scope. The evolution of Paris, which has been razed to the ground and remodeled, sees a current master plan that dreams of foresting over a section of its 10-lane ring road. Truly Paris could become the Singaporean notion of itself as a city within a garden. To sustain its burgeoning international city status, Beijing's planners need to create and maintain a new landscape that integrates the city's heritage with its modern façade. Should Beijing capitalize on its current growth the possibilities are sky high, but public spaces must be included in all new construction, just as it is evident in its past.