China
Razing of Historic House Stirs Outrage in Beijing
In a cruel twist, a historic house associated with Chinese architects who championed the notion that 'a great nation should hold dear its historic patrimony', and deemed by authorities an 'immovable cultural relic,' was recently demolished.
The New York Times
China Officially More Urban Than Rural
On Tuesday, China's National Bureau of Statistics announced that China has, for the first time ever, more urban than rural dwellers.
The Telegraph
Enough Supertrains--China Needs To Fix The System
Super-fast, beautifully-designed trains are the all the rage again in China, but safety, pricing, and technology concerns now need to be bumped to country's rail priority list to make it work.
The Economist
China Clears Path for Controversial Dam
To the ire of environmental critics, the Chinese State Council has moved some bureaucratic roadblocks to likely enable the building of a $3.8 billion dam.
The New York Times
For Urbanizing Beijing, "Putting Farmers in Flats" Not Enough
Tom Miller, author of "Urban Billion," discusses the pitfalls and shortcomings of a too-quickly urbanizing Beijing in this interview with David Pierson.
Los Angeles Times
China's Abandoned "Wonderland"
Once billed as China's answer to Disneyland, the now-rusting ruins of Wonderland attest to the unsustainability of China's development industry.
yahoo! Finance
Architect Defends Wind-Damaged Airport
With parts of its roof being blown off by strong wind, one architect has defended his work on Beijing's newest airport, blaming poor building material choices rather than the overall design.
The Boston Globe
Could Artificial Glaciers Keep Your City Cool in the Summer?
They're about to try it in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, creating giant "naleds" of ice that would melt slowly due to the extreme cold preserved inside.
BLDGBLG
What is China Building in the Desert?
Huffington Post Canada has posted a series of satellite images featuring massive and unexplained structures and networks in the Kumtag Desert region of China.
Huffington Post
From Zero to 1.2 Billion Passengers in 2 Decades
Guangzhou, China's public transit network barely existed back in the late 1980s, when the Guangzhou Metro Corporation (GMC) was created to oversee its creation. Today they employ over 17,000 people and in 2010 GMC carried 1.18 billion passengers.
City Mayors
China's Architectural Personality Crisis
Liu Yugie offers and considered and compelling analysis of the state of architecture in China today, and asks if "is China a playground for international architects or an abused testing ground for bad design?"
China Daily
China's Ghost Malls
Thanks to massive projects fuelled by developers rather than retailers, and official efforts to spur a consumer economy, China is becoming home to massive, deserted malls.
The Globe and Mail
Taking the Subway in Shanghai Requires a Token and a Prayer
Recent crashes involving the subway in Shanghai has caused speculation that the rails are unsafe and poorly built.
Bloomberg
Shanghai Crash Ignites Public Anger Amid Fractured Government Response
Officials are investigating the cause of a crash in which more than 20 people were seriously injured Tuesday riding the Shanghai subway. Citizens have voiced their frustration at ambitious rail projects they view as neglecting safety.
Reuters
Using GPS to Help Ease Congestion in Beijing
GPS data from over 30,000 Beijing cabs have provided researchers at Microsoft Research Asia glimpses into underlying causes of congestion in the city. Typically, the culprit is missing or flawed connections.
Technology Review
Chinese Government "Cancels" the City of Chaohu
With no advance warning, residents of the large city of Chaohu were told on August 22nd that their city no longer existed. The city's land and people are now divided into 3 and incorporated into other nearby cities.
NPR
Farmland Sale Sparks Protests in China
Since Wednesday, Chinese farmers have been protesting the sale of over 800 acres of farmland to developers. The scene, writes Andrew Jacobs, is not entirely uncommon lately as concerns over environmental justice build.
New York Times
Faking It: Imitations of Cities Around the Globe
For better or worse, cities mimic each other, making replicas of great landmarks down to unique light fixtures. The Infrastructurist selects top 5 cities that do the job well. Not surprisingly, Shanghai earns the title as the hallmark of knock-offs.
The Infrastructurist
Melbourne Ranked as Most Livable City
With high scores in five broad categories, Melbourne, Australia received the highest spot in livability rankings from The Economist's research unit.
TheCityFix.com
China Cracking Down on Rural Migrants
As millions of rural poor move into Chinese cities, the country's legal residency system is making life difficult for the illegal rural migrants.
The New York Times





















