Week 12.3 - China's ghost cities

A proliferation of what has been termed 'ghost cities' suggests that China's approach to urbanisation leaves a lot to be desired. This approach, characterised by the notion of 'build it and they will come,' has seen large scale cities erected on the rural urban fringes in order to accommodate the projected transition of residents from rural to urban areas. Capable of accommodating millions of people, they are left largely uninhabited, with occupancy rates floating around the 10% mark. This is due to the fact that policies and processes underpinning construction are not sustainable. Firstly, Chinese policy stipulates that residents are restricted to investing their money in China, resulting in a massive over supply of the market. This problem is exacerbated due to the fact that from an economic perspective, the development is largely out of reach of the unskilled rural population it is intended for. Unlinked from market demand, this rapid growth in infrastructure investment is unsustainable and needs to moderate in the future, preferably through more efficient and densely populated cities that require less infrastructure.

http://www.news.com.au/finance/china-building-mega-cities-but-they-remain-empty-sparking-fears-of-housing-bubble-burst/story-e6frfm1i-1226611169281