Author Archives: benbansal

Harris, Hamilton and Japan

By benbansal Posted in History, Japan, New York Leave a reply

Two Americans with a base in Harlem have made their lasting imprint on modern Japan. Townsend Harris, the US’s first consul to Japan, single-handedly created bilateral relations between both countries after he had founded today’s City College of New York. Alexander Hamilton, long after his untimely death, inspired Meiji-era reformers in how to design economic policy. His house up in Hamilton Heights today serves as a great museum commemorating the man’s myriad achievements.

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Commemorative plaque for Townsend Harris at City College of New York

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Hiatus, update

By benbansal Posted in Economics, Future ideas, Germany, Japan Leave a reply

It’s been a while since I last posted anything. There is really no sole reason to blame for this hiatus – just a variety of things coming together. To make use of the diary aspect of blogging and to bridge the time until my focus returns, herewith some personal updates and thoughts just ahead of the holidays.

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Zooming along the Den-en-toshi Line

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Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line

By benbansal Posted in Architecture, History, Japan, Tokyo Leave a reply

Japan is any rail buff’s heaven. The punctuality and efficiency of the trains is one thing, the sheer scale of the network another: 82 out of the world’s 100 busiest train stations are in Japan. The role private rail lines played in the post-war urbanisation of Tokyo is explored in the post below, using Tokyu’s Den-en-toshi Line as an example.

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Den-en-toshi Line signage. Thanks to kawawa for taking the shot!

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East Germany and Japan 2: economic cooperation

By benbansal Posted in Economics, Germany, History, Japan Leave a reply

The 1980s are often described as the “lost decade” for much of the second and third world. East Germany was partly able to avoid economic malaise. That was partly the case because Japanese banks kept the tabs open while relations between the GDR and the East Asian miracle nation blossomed. Some further historical anecdotes after the jump.

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Two icons of the 1980s GDR – Semperoper in Dresden and Mazda 323 parked to the far left next to more common vehicles Trabant, Lada, Skoda, and Wartburg; by Flickr user Felix O (creative commons)

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East Germany and Japan 1: Kajima Corporation

By benbansal Posted in Architecture, Germany, History, Japan 2 Replies

Japan’s post-war rise is often mentioned in the same breath with Germany’s spectacular economic miracle – the “Wirtschaftswunder”. For someone born on the other side of the wall in East Berlin, it is interesting to read about the less-documented relationship between economic superstar Japan and socialist East Germany during the decades of the cold war. The first installment in a set of some anecdotes is about Kajima Corporation’s export of Japanese construction practices to Berlin, Leipzig and Dresden.

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Hotel Merkur Leipzig model presentation by Kajima Corporation in 1978

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American embassy housing

By benbansal Posted in Architecture, History, Japan, Tokyo 11 Replies

While in Tokyo we lived in a serviced apartment in Ark Hills, right next to Roppongi-itchome station. We could see the 1983 US embassy residences opposite Roppongi Dori from our windows. I found some pictures from before they were built. They illustrate how the area has changed since the war and bring back to life two historic buildings that occupied the site before. 30 Nov: Update at bottom of the post

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September 1953 – Perry Apartments, left, with Harris Apartments on the right (Antonin Raymond), photograph from Gerald & Rella Warner Japan Slide Collection, reproduced with permission.

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Economies of vastness

By benbansal Posted in Central Asia, Economics Leave a reply

The New York Times ran an article about Kazakhstan’s rail network the other day. It made me think both of the country that I have had the pleasure of visiting frequently and a growing interest in the interdisciplinary world of spatial economics. Some hopefully related thoughts after the jump.

Kazansky Rail Terminal, train to Kazakhstan (Казанский Вокзал, поезд в Казахстан)

Kazakhstan rail wagon – in Kazan, Russia, by Flickr user Mikhail Shcherbakov (creative commons)

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Social Impact Bonds

By benbansal Posted in Asset management, Economics 4 Replies

I don’t get many comments on this blog but one of the few I did get urged me to look at social impact bonds (SIBs). It came in response to a critical post I wrote on impact investing. SIBs are a potentially major instrument in impact investing in which payback is linked to a pre-defined (social) outcome. Most of them don’t deserve the name bond as they exhibit more option-like characteristics. But that is not the only source of my theoretical confusion surrounding SIBs.

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Again for a lack of a better photo – view down Broad Street, downtown Manhattan

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History on Seventh Avenue

By benbansal Posted in Architecture, History, New York 1 Reply

A stone throw away from where I live stand two buildings that occupy a special place in Harlem’s history. They are the First Corinthian Baptist Church on the southwest corner of 7th Avenue and 116th Street and Graham Court diagonally across the street. Theresa Hotel is another landmark building, nine blocks uptown on 7th Avenue and 125th Street.

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Strivers’ Row

By benbansal Posted in Architecture, History, New York Leave a reply

One of the stops on my Harlem-for-visitors tour is Stivers’ Row on West 138th and 139th Streets between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd and Frederick Douglass Blvd. Some photos and a little history after the jump.

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The courtyards acted as an alleyway with horse stables

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