Just like it is hard to understand that these large cities are generally safe it is also hard to understand the amount of development that has happened. By now most would have probably heard the stories or seen the pictures of things like changing skylines. But it's different when you go there. Almost every year there is one or more projects completed that would have taken 10 or 20 years in western countries. And not just shopping malls but projects that actually do something.
It's really hard to pessimistic with that kind of change despite being faced with a very real reality everyday. We used to speculate that China might be the best country to be born in today. Because it would take ~20+ years until you enter the workforce. And if the next 20 years are like the past 20 years you could do really well. That outlook has of course dimmed a bit since then.
What I'm trying to say it that when people believe things will get better they don't want to give up their future. When things stagnant or getting worse people are hopeless they feel like they have nothing to lose. Crime seems to be factor of that. Maybe just not to those ending up committing the crimes but for everyone else as well.
It's not surprising to me that some crimes and social unrest is on the rise in supposedly prosperous countries when everything is getting expensive, opportunities are getting harder to come by and those opportunities you do have count for less. If those at the top of society all act like there is no tomorrow, or that tomorrow doesn't matter, we shouldn't expect those at the bottom to act any differently. I can agree that this sort of culture, the one of acts and impressions, makes a huge difference.
Unlike the West, if you’re a drug addict in a lot of Asian countries you’re arrested and put in jail. Or sentenced to treatment which is basically jail for people with mental issues.
Not sure we want to emulate that.
In some of the large American cities where I've lived, the parks are populated by groups of Lululemons doing yoga in the morning. Some cities, like Chicago and Houston, even organize the events.
Considering the lifestyle I remember from my L.A. days, I'd say there's probably a yoga group in a park not too far from where you live.
Also, if it's dark out, people are generally sleeping- music should not be playing at loud volumes.
I know (hope?) you are being hyperbolic, but I don't think these two issues are as directly related as you make it seem.
They make the public spaces feel 'alive'. I've lived in my different cities in the West including those in Western Europe and North America, and all too often public spaces become completely dead and devoid of life all because people have become so fearful of offending others or looking stupid. Everyone just wants to keep to themselves and be left alone. Suburbs are practically ghost towns with everyone (probably on their devices) hiding inside their homes. Physical social networks are clearly on the decline and as a result, depression and loneliness has become an absolute epidemic in the West. The problem only gets exponentially worse as one ages.
Happy dancing grannies engaging in physical exercise, socializing and helping to keep the community safe is what Western countries to be aspiring to have, instead of criticizing and ridiculing.