Posted Sep 1, 2022, 2:04 AM
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Moderator
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: 360, St. Edwards
Posts: 12,383
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July 2022
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/ar...th-skyscrapers
Quote:
Nothing ruins a Chinese neighborhood like a vacant skyscraper owned by a bankrupt real estate developer. But Hefei, the capital of Anhui Province, has something worse: the first floors of a building intended to be one of the world's tallest. Its owner, cash-strapped China Evergrande Group, has suspended construction while it tries to avoid a default that would shake China's economy.
Even if Evergrande manages to dig itself out of its financial hole, the physical one will remain. Earlier this week, China's chief economic planning agency announced that it was severely restricting the construction of tall buildings to improve urban environments, while China's housing agency ordered developers to focus on low-rise residences. These are monumental shifts for China, which long prioritized the construction of tall buildings at the expense of safety, livability and affordable housing.
If the government follows through on its promises, the 518-meter (1,669-foot) Hefei tower will never rise. But a more livable urban China will.
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