why do actual communist planned economy nations have such great train stations (and aesthetics in general)
Car infrastructure is just, and I do mean this seriously, unimaginably expensive. If you do not priotize the car you have such a shitton of money left over you can just put like, chandeliers in your metro stations.
was the USSR very low on car infrastructure? I honestly don't know so I'm asking (I know they had great train stations too)
Late stage, no, not so much, earlier stages? Yeah, absolutely, especially compared to like the west
There's the Oculus stattion in NYC which is ok, but I hate the building it's connected to. It's one of only a handful of nice stations though. Half of the NYC metro looks like Silent Hill.
Russia (St.Petersburg)
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Spain (Madrid Atocha)
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SPB's stations are some of the nicest I had the pleasure of being in. The focus back when it was built really was on the people.
St. Petersburg's and Moscow's old stations were built to show off superiority of communist state. That's where you can see lots of polished stone, sculptures, giant golden light fixtures, stained glass, etc. Focus was not on the people. Then starting around 1970s the stations were built with much more utilitarian design. Modern stations built in Moscow in last decade or so look very nice though.
NYC subway is just gross. I guess they are seriously underfunded to afford proper cleaning and renovation
Today I learned of the Pyongyang Metro. Their trains are really cute!
