As the structure of China’s urban shopping malls evolves into large-scale, multi-use “lifestyle complexes”, so too does their role in the social and cultural fabric of metropolitan society.
A new report by one of China's premier academic research organizations has warned about rising discrepancies between the growth of China's cities and their ability to provide the resources necessary to serve those populations.
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?"
Dense cities, argues Daniel Garst, are shaped like a pyramid, with the most density in the middle and sloping sides. Beijing, on the other hand, has developed more like a circus tent, with density at the sides but single-story homes in the middle.
Chinese cities are destroying their architectural heritage as they rush to urbanize, according to Shan Jixiang, head of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.
With some of the its cleanest air in decades, Beijing is warming up to some of the pollution-cutting regulations officials have enacted during the Olympics. Some may become permanent.
