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Gregory Bracken, Aspects of urbanization in China : Shanghai, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Amsterdam university press, 2012, 212 p. Abstract : China's rise is one of the transformative events of our time. Aspects of urbanization in China: Shanghai, Hong Kong, Guangzhou examines some of the aspects of China's massive wave of urbanization - the largest the world has ever seen. The various papers in the book, written by academics from different disciplines, represent ongoing research and exploration and give a useful snapshot in a rapidly developing discourse. Their point of departure is the city - Shanghai, Hong Kong and Guangzhou - where the downside of China's miraculous economic growth is most painfully apparent. And it is concern for the citizens of these cities that unifies the papers in a book whose authors seek to understand what life is like for the people who call them home. Disponible en ligne, intégralement, à l'adresse : http://www.oapen.org/search?identifier=418533;keyword=bracken

The Shenzhen & Hong Kong Bi-city Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture embodies an open attitude, the spirit of innovation and the courage of constant exploration that all inherited from the history of establishing Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. The biennials so far (starting in 2005) have built a communication platform for international art scenes in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

[ScienceDirect, via Biblio-SHS] Auteur : Adolf K.Y. Ng, James J. Wang Paru dans : Research in Transportation Economics, Volume 35, Issue 1, Pages 1-66 (May 2012) Editorial 1. Introduction Globalization has brought China ever close to the rest of the world not only through its trade and transport networks, but also many transport-related issues that seem to be in common among other countries, while simultaneously with special causes deep-rooted from its unique pathway of development especially in the past several decades. The major fundamental difference of China's development from other countries lies in its economy in general, while the transport sector, in particular, lies in the role of the government. Indeed, since the global financial crisis in 2008, advanced economies, such as the US and several EU countries, have intensified on how to redefine and strengthen the role of the state within respective economies. On the contrary, the Chinese situation is exactly the other way round: the debate is about how to reduce interferences from the very strong hands of the government towards a real regulated market. In this respect, the transport sector typifies this ongoing marketization process. On one extreme, the mode of highway transportation is fully marketized: private investors may construct toll expressways in almost any provinces, either as joint ventures partnering with state-owned firms or just as fully private developers. On the other side of the continuum, after more than three decades of 'reforms', railway infrastructures, as well as their operation, are still fully and tightly controlled by the Ministry of Railways (MOR) through its subsidiary's monopoly. In-between the highways and railways are air and maritime transportation, both of which being characterized by oligopolies with two to three state-owned listed companies taking up more than 80% of the market share. Given such situation, there is a clear interest for further understanding and re

Siu Yu Lau, Stephen Gonzalez Martinez Paula In: ACE©, AÑO 7 núm.20, OCTUBRE 2012 China is going through one of the most dramatic social and cultural transformations in its history. In this speed change scenario, the never - questioned conventions in the western architecture have been betrayed. Invention, reinterpretation sometimes even revolution, never represent a step further as they did in the XXI century theoretical thinking. To engage architectural thoughts with the booming economy could contribute to the definition of a contemporary Chinese architecture, far from the generic city, in a society that has evolved from pre-modernism to post-industrialism in a short period of time. Through the analysis of Hong Kong, and a series of case studies, a conclusion to this scenario is sought.

Xuefei Ren's work on the high-end of the building boom in China brings together the sociology of globalization with the study of architecture and the built environment. Building Globalization treats architectural production as crucial to the material and symbolic ways in which global cities are made. Based on Ren's doctoral research at the University of Chicago, the book draws on fieldwork conducted in Beijing and Shanghai between 2004 and 2008, covering the bull years leading up to the Beijing Olympics. China is now taken to exemplify the geo-demographic shift that has seen developing countries lead current processes of urbanisation. However the Chinese government's attitude towards quanqiuhua chengshi (global cities) and its support for rapid urban growth from the mid-late 1990s represented a striking reversal of official policy which had been to limit the growth of large cities and promote instead the development of small-medium centres (p.11). The re-scaling of state power to metropolitan level in the interests of enhancing urban competitiveness has been an international trend in recent decades. In China this has proved particularly effective in driving urban growth, given state ownership of land and government control over household registration, urban planning and development decisions. Metropolitan governments in China have the kind of ownership and discretionary powers of which the most boosterist western city mayors can only dream. Ren argues convincingly that the processes shaping these cities are increasingly transnational; in particular, the forces that make buildings 'operate beyond national boundaries, as seen in the circulation of investment capital, the movements of built-environment professionals, and the diffusion of new technologies' (p.6). However, while Chinese economic growth may have destabilized a global balance of power dominated by the triad of the USA, the European Union and Japan, Ren's analysis suggests that older core-peripher

For much of the 20th century, the world looked to American cities for a glimpse of the future. Places like New York and Chicago had the tallest skyscrapers, the newest airports, the fastest highways, and the best electricity grids. But now, just 12 years into the Asian Century, the city of the future has picked up and moved to China. No less than U.S. Vice President Joe Biden recognized this when he said not long ago, "If I blindfolded Americans and took them into some of the airports or ports in China and then took them to one in any one of your cities, in the middle of the night … and then said, 'Which one is an American? Which one is in your city in America? And which one's in China?' most Americans would say, 'Well, that great one is in America.' It's not." The speech raised eyebrows among conservative commentators, but it points out the obvious to anyone who has spent time in Beijing, Hong Kong, or Shanghai (or even lesser-known cities like Shenzhen and Dalian, for that matter). En ligne, site consulté le : 17/08/2012

China's carbon markets push: Huge potential, but daunting challenges A domestic cap-and-trade system could more effectively curb emissions than command-and-control, a new report from SEI and FORES shows, but the process is still in its infancy. China observers have rightfully called attention to the country's new interest in market-based approaches to reducing the energy- and carbon-intensity of its economy. It is a major policy shift, and given that China is the world's top carbon emitter, it has potentially huge implications for global efforts to slow climate change. But can carbon trading succeed without a mature free-market economy? That is a key question raised in the report, China's Carbon Emission Trading: An Overview of Current Development, by SEI's Guoyi Han, Marie Olsson and Karl Hallding, and David Lunsford, founder of the Hong Kong-based consultancy Energy Environment Solutions. The report was released today in Brussels at a seminar with several Members of the European Parliament. "If China's carbon markets experiment succeeds, it could be decisive," says Martin Ådahl, director of FORES, which co-sponsored the report. "Not only could it slow China's rapid emissions growth, but it would be an important step towards global carbon pricing. A great deal is at stake."

With rapid economy growth, building energy consumption in China has been gradually increased. The energy consumption and indoor environmental quality of 51 office buildings in Hainan Province, a hot and humid area, were studied through collection of verified data in site visits and field tests. The result revealed that, electricity accounted for 99.79% of the total energy consumption, natural gas 0.17%, and diesel 0.04%. The air conditioning dominated the energy use with a share of 43.18%, equipment in the particular areas 26.90%, equipment in the office rooms 11.95%, lighting system 8.67%, general service system 7.57%, and miscellaneous items 1.73%. Statistical method including six indicators obtained the energy consumption benchmark with upper limit of 98.31 kW·h/m2 and lower limit of 55.26 kW·h/m2. According to ASHRAE standard (comfortable standard) and GB/T 18883-2002 (acceptable standard), the indoor environmental quality of 51 sampled office buildings was classified into three ranks: good, normal and bad. With benchmark of building energy consumption combined with indoor environmental quality, it was found that only 3.92% of sampled buildings can be identified as the best performance buildings with low energy consumption and advanced indoor environmental quality, and the buildings classified into normal level accounted for the maximum ratio.