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.
6 February 2012 - 6:00am
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.
17 January 2012 - 1:00pm
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.
13 January 2012 - 12:00pm
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.
3 January 2012 - 5:00am
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.
24 December 2011 - 1:00pm
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.
16 December 2011 - 11:00am
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.
25 November 2011 - 7:00am
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.
16 November 2011 - 1:00pm
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.
16 November 2011 - 10:00am
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.
26 October 2011 - 6:00am
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?"
17 October 2011 - 2:00pm
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.
3 October 2011 - 12:00pm
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.
1 October 2011 - 11:00am
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.
28 September 2011 - 10:00am
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.
28 September 2011 - 5:00am
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.
26 September 2011 - 9:00am
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.
24 September 2011 - 11:00am
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.
9 September 2011 - 5:00am
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.
2 September 2011 - 9:00am
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.
31 August 2011 - 8:00am
The New York Times
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