Editing Yangon (section)

==Cityscape==
[[File:Yangon map.svg|thumb|Map of Yangon]]
[[File:Yangon, Strand Road, Myanmar, Burma.jpg|thumb|[[Strand Road, Yangon]]]]
[[File: Cityhall Yangon Downtown.jpg |thumb|[[Downtown Yangon|City square in downtown Yangon]]]]
[[File:Yangon at night.jpg|alt=|thumb|Yangon at night]]
[[File:Yangon cityscape Hledan.jpg|thumb|[[Kamayut Township|Yangon cityscape from Hledan]]]]
Until the mid-1990s, Yangon remained largely constrained to its traditional peninsula setting between the [[Bago River|Bago]], Yangon, and [[Hlaing River]]s. People moved in, but little of the city moved out. Maps from 1944 show little development north of [[Inya Lake]] and areas that are now layered in cement and stacked with houses were then virtual backwaters. Since the late 1980s, however, the city began a rapid spread north to where [[Yangon International Airport]] now stands. But the result is a stretching tail on the city, with the downtown area well removed from its geographic centre.<ref name="future-yangon">{{Cite journal |title=The Future of Yangon |url=http://www.myanmar.com/myanmartimes/MyanmarTimes17-325/b008.htm |date=16 July 2006 |author=May Thanda Win |journal=The Myanmar Times |access-date=5 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121094338/http://www.myanmar.com/myanmartimes/MyanmarTimes17-325/b008.htm |archive-date=21 November 2008 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The city's area has steadily increased from {{convert|72.52|km2|sqmi}} in 1901 to {{convert|86.2|km2|sqmi}} in 1940 to {{convert|208.51|km2|sqmi}} in 1974, to {{convert|346.13|km2|sqmi}} in 1985, and to {{convert|598.75|km2|sqmi}} in 2008.<ref name=uncrd>{{Cite web |url=http://www.uncrd.or.jp/env/3rd-regional-est-forum/doc/23_Myanmar.pdf |title=Third Regional EST Forum: Presentation of Myanmar |publisher=Ministry of Transport, Myanmar |location=Singapore |date=17–19 March 2008 |access-date=19 January 2009 |archive-date=26 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226114154/http://www.uncrd.or.jp/env/3rd-regional-est-forum/doc/23_Myanmar.pdf }}</ref><ref name=mcy-znm>{{Cite book |title=Megacity yangon: transformation processes and modern developments |author=Zin Nwe Myint |isbn=978-3-8258-0042-0 |editor1=Frauke Krass |editor2=Hartmut Gaese |editor3=Mi Mi Kyi |page=264 |publisher=Lit Verlag |location=Berlin |year=2006}}</ref>

===Architecture===
{{see also|List of tallest buildings in Yangon}}
[[File:YangonViewKDG2024.png|thumb|The skyline of Yangon in late November 2024]]

[[Downtown Yangon]] is known for its leafy avenues and fin-de-siècle architecture.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123266507433707833 |title=Asia's Lost Treasure Trove |author=Tom Wright |date=23 January 2009 |work=WSJ Weekend Journal |access-date=8 August 2017 |archive-date=16 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816005200/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123266507433707833 |url-status=live}}</ref> The former British colonial capital has the highest number of colonial period buildings in south-east Asia.<ref name="bygone"/> Downtown Yangon is still mainly made up of decaying colonial buildings. The former [[High Court (Burma)|High Court]], the former [[Ministers' Building|Secretariat buildings]], the former [[BEHS 6 Botataung|St. Paul's English High School]] and the [[Strand Hotel]] are excellent examples of the bygone era. Most downtown buildings from this era are four-story mix-use (residential and commercial) buildings with {{convert|14|ft|m|adj=on}} ceilings, allowing for the construction of [[mezzanine (architecture)|mezzanines]]. Despite their less-than-perfect conditions, the buildings remain highly sought after and most expensive in the city's property market.<ref name=oldies>{{Cite journal |title=Demand for downtown's golden oldies still strong |url=http://mmtimes.com/no449/b007.html |date=15 December 2008 |journal=The Myanmar Times |author=Htar Htar Khin |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214145346/http://mmtimes.com/no449/b007.html |archive-date=14 February 2012}}</ref>

In 1996, the [[Yangon City Development Committee]] created a [[Yangon City Heritage List]] of old buildings and structures in the city that cannot be modified or torn down without approval.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/colonial-past-could-be-the-saving-of-rangoon-2219991.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/colonial-past-could-be-the-saving-of-rangoon-2219991.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Colonial past could be the saving of Rangoon |last=Kennedy |first=Phoebe |date=20 February 2011 |work=The Independent |access-date=10 March 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 2012, the city of Yangon imposed a 50-year moratorium on demolition of buildings older than 50 years.<ref name="rob">{{cite news |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/366b4332-69b5-11e1-8996-00144feabdc0.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/366b4332-69b5-11e1-8996-00144feabdc0.html |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |title=Myanmar pushes to save colonial buildings |last=Robinson |first=Gwen |date=9 March 2012 |work=Financial Times |access-date=10 March 2012}}</ref> The [[Yangon Heritage Trust]], an NGO started by [[Thant Myint-U]], aims to create heritage areas in Downtown, and attract investors to renovate buildings for commercial use.<ref name="rob"/>

A latter-day hallmark of Yangon is the eight-story [[apartment building]]. (In Yangon parlance, a building with no [[elevator]]s (lifts) is called an apartment building and one with elevators is called a [[Condominium (living space)|condominium]].<ref>{{Cite journal |title=City living: condos vs apartments |url=http://www.mmtimes.com/feature/Construction/con13.htm |date=1 September 2007 |journal=The Myanmar Times |access-date=12 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720094137/http://www.mmtimes.com/feature/Construction/con13.htm |archive-date=20 July 2008 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Condos which have to invest in a local power generator to ensure 24-hour electricity for the elevators are beyond the reach of most Yangonites.) Found throughout the city, eight-story apartment buildings provide inexpensive housing for many Yangonites. The apartments are usually eight stories high (including the ground floor) mainly because city regulations, until February 2008, required that all buildings higher than {{convert|75|ft|m}} or eight stories to install lifts.<ref name=lift>{{Cite news |title=Lift regulation changed |url=http://www.mmtimes.com/no409/n013.htm |date=10 March 2008 |author=Yi Yi Htwe |work=The Myanmar Times |access-date=1 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101216085020/http://mmtimes.com/no409/n013.htm |archive-date=16 December 2010 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The code calls for elevators in buildings higher than {{convert|62|ft|m}} or six stories, likely ushering in the era of the six-story apartment building. Although most apartment buildings were built only within the last 20 years, they look much older and rundown due to shoddy construction and lack of proper maintenance.

Unlike other major Asian cities, Yangon does not have any skyscrapers. This is due to rule that no building should be more than 75% the height above sea level of [[Shwedagon Pagoda]], which rises about {{convert|160|m}}. For instance, in 2015, a luxury housing project was cancelled due to its proximity to Shwedagon Pagoda. Critics of the project claimed that the project could cause structural damage to the pagoda.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tha |first=Kyaw Phyo |date=2016-02-08 |title=Once-Cancelled Dagon City 1 Project Relocated to New Site |url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/once-cancelled-dagon-city-1-project-relocated-to-new-site.html |access-date=2023-08-22 |website=The Irrawaddy |language=en-US |archive-date=22 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822092110/https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/once-cancelled-dagon-city-1-project-relocated-to-new-site.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Aside from a few high-rise hotels and office towers, most high-rise buildings (usually 10 stories and up) are "condos" scattered across prosperous neighborhoods north of downtown such as [[Bahan Township|Bahan]], [[Dagon Township|Dagon]], [[Kamayut Township|Kamayut]] and [[Mayangon Township|Mayangon]].

Older satellite towns such as [[Thaketa Township|Thaketa]], [[North Okkalapa Township|North Okkalapa]], and [[South Okkalapa Township|South Okkalapa]] are lined mostly with one to two-story detached houses with access to the city's electricity grid. Newer satellite towns such as [[North Dagon Township|North Dagon]] and [[South Dagon Township|South Dagon]] are in a grid layout. The satellite towns—old or new—receive little or no municipal services.

===Road layout===
[[File:Ministers' Office Building Yangon 4.jpg|thumb|Yangon Secretariat Office]]
[[Downtown Yangon]]'s road layout follows a grid pattern, based on four types of roads:
* Broad 49-m wide roads running west to east
* Broad 30-m wide roads running south to north
* Two narrow 9.1-m wide streets running south to north
* Mid-size 15-m wide streets running south to north

The east–west grid of central was laid out by British military engineers Fraser and Montgomerie after the [[Second Anglo-Burmese War]].<ref name="arc"/> The city was later developed by the Public Works Department and Bengal Corps of Engineers. The pattern of south to north roads is as follows: one broad {{convert|100|ft|m|adj=on}} wide road, two narrow streets, one mid-size street, two more narrow streets, and then another broad {{convert|100|ft|m|adj=on}} wide road. This order is repeated from west to east. The narrow streets are numbered; the medium and broad roads are named.

For example, the {{convert|100|ft|m|adj=on}} Lanmadaw Road is followed by {{convert|30|ft|m|adj=on}}-wide 17th and 18th streets then the medium {{convert|50|ft|m|adj=on}} Sint-Oh-Dan Road, the 30-foot 19th and 20th streets, followed by another {{convert|100|ft|m|adj=on}} wide Latha Road, followed again by the two numbered small roads 21st and 22nd streets, and so on.

The roads running parallel west to east were the Strand Road, Merchant Road, Maha Bandula (née Dalhousie) Road, Anawrahta (Fraser) Road, and Bogyoke Aung San (Montgomerie) Road.
[[File:Yangon Kandawgyi Lake.jpeg|thumb|[[Kandawgyi Lake]], a popular park near downtown Yangon]]

===Parks and gardens===
The largest and best maintained parks in Yangon are located around [[Shwedagon Pagoda]]. To the south-east of the gilded stupa is the most popular recreational area in the city – [[Kandawgyi Lake]]. The 150-acre (61-ha) lake is surrounded by the 110-acre (45-ha) [[Kandawgyi Nature Park]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.myanmars.net/myanmar-travel/myanmar-yangon/kandawgyi-garden.htm |title=Kandawgyi Garden |access-date=21 December 2006 |archive-date=23 September 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060923195453/http://www.myanmars.net/myanmar-travel/myanmar-yangon/kandawgyi-garden.htm }}</ref> and the 69.25-acre (28-ha) [[Yangon Zoological Gardens]], which consists of a zoo, an aquarium and an amusement park.<ref name="yz">{{cite web |url=http://www.yangonzoo.com/profile.html |title=History of Zoological Gardens (Yangon) |access-date=27 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080802013535/http://www.yangonzoo.com/profile.html |archive-date=2 August 2008 |url-status=usurped |df=dmy-all}}</ref> West of the pagoda towards the former Hluttaw (Parliament) complex is the 130-acre (53-ha) [[People's Square and Park]], the former parading ground on important national days when Yangon was the capital.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://myanmargeneva.org/basicfacts/cap.htm |title=Nation's Capital Yangon |access-date=9 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090714132014/http://www.myanmargeneva.org/basicfacts/cap.htm |archive-date=14 July 2009 }}</ref> A few miles north of the pagoda lies the 37-acre (15-ha) [[Inya Lake|Inya Lake Park]] – a favourite hangout place of [[Yangon University]] students, and a well-known place of romance in Burmese popular culture.

[[Hlawga National Park]] and [[Taukkyan War Cemetery|Allied War Memorial]] at the outskirts of the city are popular day-trip destinations with tourists.