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Who is Designing for the Poor?

June 28th, 2009

by Ou Ning

Ever after the country’s economic reforms, Chinese cities have always been influenced by the American model. In particular, the development of suburban housing connected to city centres by highways has become standard. For a long time, automobiles have been a symbol of modernisation. Commuting to the city office from a suburban residence becomes a much desired image of the bourgeoisie. But in fact, such city zoning is a total loss. Panyu, Guangzhou, is a typical case of failure. Because of the development of the so-called Huanan banukuai, the population in Panyu increased rapidly. Luoxiqiao (Luoxi bridge)is overloaded by the busy traffic and is always congested. Furthermore, as many developers are no longer willing to pay for public facilities, whose construction costs were supposedly included in their land costs according to the authority’s idealistic computation, such services are all lacking. People now live in exquisite houses in the suburb, but take pain to squeeze through the congested traffic for necessities like schooling and medical services in the city. Not really better off than the poor.

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