Issue: The question of ghost towns in Asia Forum: Group of 20 (G20) Position: Deputy-President Name: Deniz Akduman Introduction Ghosts towns can be defined distinctly between individuals and between cultures. The term is sometimes used to express deserted settlements due to lack of economic feasibility, or T. Lindsay Baker, who is the author of Ghost Towns of the reason for being no Texas, defines it as “a town for which to refer settlements with visible concrete remains as ghost towns, longer exists.” While some refuse some argue that a ghost town should include the palpable remains of buildings. Another discussion about the description of ghost towns contains whether the settlement should be entirely deserted, or encompass a small population. Furthermore, there are various reasons behind the establishment of ghost towns, which consist of natural and man-made disasters, changes in access, disease and contamination, human intervention and the shift of economic activity. Even though there are only a few revived ghost towns across the globe such as Alexandria in Egypt, Oran in Algeria and the village Foncebadón in northwestern Spain, heritage tourism is a significant encouragement for the revival of abandoned settlements. In Asia, especially in China, there are many ghost cities where the properties have been essentially unoccupied since they were built. In addition, the abandoned settlements, such as the town Butugychag or also known as Lower Butugychag, in the former Soviet Union were constructed close to the concentration camps of Gulag, the government agency, to provide vital goods and services. As the camps were deserted in 1950s, residents also abandoned the region and thus caused the settlements to The most significant stimulators behind the deserted Asian towns were the become ‘’ghost towns.’’ decrease in the industrial capacity and the economic crises in the early 1990s, because of the political and ethnic conflicts occurring before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Ordos, Ghost City China’s Definition of Key Terms Ghost Town A ghost town is a deserted village, town, or city because of weakened economic activity, natural or man-made disasters, human intervention and government activities. Ghost towns can be cities, towns, and neighborhoods, which may still hold concrete remains of buildings, hosting smaller sizes of inhabitants when compared to the populations of previous years.
Issue: The question of ghost towns in Asia Forum: Group of 20 (G20) Position: Deputy-President Name: Deniz Akduman Introduction Ghosts towns can be defined distinctly between individuals and between cultures. The term is sometimes used to express deserted settlements due to lack of economic feasibility, or T. Lindsay Baker, who is the author of Ghost Towns of Texas, defines it as “a town for which the reason for being no longer exists.” While some refuse to refer settlements with visible concrete remains as ghost towns, some argue that a ghost town should include the palpable remains of buildings. Another discussion about the description of ghost towns contains whether the settlement should be entirely deserted, or encompass a small population. Furthermore, there are various reasons behind the establishment of ghost towns, which consist of natural and man-made disasters, changes in access, disease and contamination, human intervention and the shift of economic activity. Even though there are only a few revived ghost towns across the globe such as Alexandria in Egypt, Oran in Algeria and the village Foncebadón in northwestern Spain, heritage tourism is a significant encouragement for the revival of abandoned settlements. In Asia, especially in China, there are many ghost cities where the properties have been essentially unoccupied since they were built. In addition, the abandoned settlements, such as the town Butugychag or also known as Lower Butugychag, in the former Soviet Union were constructed close to the concentration camps of Gulag, the government agency, to provide vital goods and services. As the camps were deserted in 1950s, residents also abandoned the region and thus caused the settlements to become ‘’ghost towns.’’ The most significant stimulators behind the deserted Asian towns were the decrease in the industrial capacity and the economic crises in the early 1990s, because of the political and ethnic conflicts occurring before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Ordos, China’s Ghost City Definition of Key Terms Ghost Town A ghost town is a deserted village, town, or city because of weakened economic activity, natural or man-made disasters, human intervention and government activities. Ghost towns can be cities, towns, and neighborhoods, which may still hold concrete remains of buildings, hosting smaller sizes of inhabitants when compared to the populations of previous years.
G20-1.docx