Sustainable population levels are a key criterion of
sustainable cities. In response to this facet, for the past three decades,
China has implemented controls in order to mitigate population growth in the
form of their one child per family policy. Substantial fines associated with
exceeding this limit effectively act as a birth control mechanism, and over
this period, it is assumed that the policy has resulted in 400 million fewer
births. However, in regards to sustainability and cities, the degree to which
this measure can be considered effective is questionable.
Over the short term, this is specifically true, with the
ability to have only one child, or two under certain circumstances, leaving
China with a rapidly aging population. As a consequence, the first children
born under this policy have been left with the added burden of caring for the
elderly. Furthermore, substantial fines associated with exceeding the one child
limit often leave families to lie on census data. In urban areas, children are
often listed to other family members, and in rural areas, left out all
together, with the real population expected to be higher than listed. In
addition, the desire to have a boy has also seen that millions of female
foetuses have been aborted, and resulted in an unprecedented man made gender
imbalance.
Minter, A, 2014. A fine mess: China's two-child penalties
don't add up. The Sydney Morning Herald, 5 April. 14.
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