<i>Where else in the metropolis, after all, are there free toilets, air-conditioning and seating?</i><p>This is meant as a rhetorical question, as if those things didn't exist in cities. They don't in many <i>western</i> cities, certainly, but Japanese cities do quite well on all 3 counts, as does Taipei if memory serves.<p>Interestingly, while apparently ignoring Asian cities, the article and photos focus specifically on Asian airports. Many western ones are outright hostile to travellers. I'm thinking of just about all UK airports, but for example Berlin Tegel is also pretty awful. They're neither architecturally grand, nor do they in any way resemble traditional public spaces.