Urban development

Visiting writers often describe Yangon as a city “where time stood still”. Years of international isolation have kept the commercial center of Myanmar in a curious state of preservation – clerks still prepare type-written contracts on the street, and there are thousands of colonial-era buildings. But since reforms were introduced in 2011, that’s been changing fast. High-rises have been popping up in between the moldering mansions. Flyovers were erected by the former government in a much-criticized measure to combat traffic. For a while, it seemed like there was no real plan. In 2016, the city welcomed a popular new chief minister, Phyo Min Thein, who placed an emphasis on controlled development. There are high hopes that forging Yangon’s bright new future won’t mean destroying the charming relics of its past.