China’s first-tier cities barely suitable for living, report says

Beijing Morning by J Aaron Farr
Beijing Morning by J Aaron Farr

Despite a strong showing in the “Top 10 attractive cities to foreigners” list, a new report indicates that no Mainland first-tier cities are suitable for habitation.

The report on China’s urban competitiveness, from Chinese think tank the National Academy of Economic Strategy under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, states that the metropolises of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou all failed to rank as “habitable cities”; with Beijing dropping to 74th and 119th on the list for habitability and ecological environment. Hong Kong and Macao, however, are listed among the country’s most livable cities.

Li Guangquan, a researcher with the China Center for Service Sector Research, said the ultimate goal of urban competitiveness should be the pursuit of citizens’ benefits.

However, many first-tier cities, despite their outstanding competitiveness, are barely people-oriented and hardly satisfactory in ecological protection, Li said.

High housing prices have become the main reason that some cities are increasingly “uninhabitable”, with other reasons including poor air quality and traffic congestion, he said.

[source]

Discussion

6
    • I believe it’s based on several indicators, including traffic, pollution and general cost of living. It’s not uninhabitable… it just doesn’t make the grade. 🙂 Of course, in a broader sense, all the 1st tier cities have huge advantages over the smaller cities — just not when it comes to cost of living, pollution and traffic.

  1. I really hope our country will do it’s best for new clean energy technologies. We could be an example to the world, and otherwise we will become a land of toxic air…

  2. None of Chinese cities are built to pursuit the citizens’ benefits. Even P.R.C is not built for that, it’s more like a huge prison. Actually countries like China should not develop economy, because this will produce many new problems, such as these pollutions, which will make the government headache, as the government’s first goal is to maintain their domination to this country, not solving problems.

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