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Full Description
Over the last thirty years, even as China's economy has grown by leaps and bounds, the environmental quality of its urban centers has precipitously declined due to heavy industrial output and coal consumption. The country is currently the world's largest greenhouse-gas emitter and several of the most polluted cities in the world are in China. Yet, millions of people continue moving to its cities seeking opportunities. Blue Skies over Beijing investigates the ways that China's urban development impacts local and global environmental challenges. Focusing on day-to-day choices made by the nation's citizens, families, and government, Matthew Kahn and Siqi Zheng examine how Chinese urbanites are increasingly demanding cleaner living conditions and consider where China might be headed in terms of sustainable urban growth. Kahn and Zheng delve into life in China's cities from the personal perspectives of the rich, middle class, and poor, and how they cope with the stresses of pollution.
Urban parents in China have a strong desire to protect their children from environmental risk, and calls for a better quality of life from the rising middle class places pressure on government officials to support greener policies. Using the historical evolution of American cities as a comparison, the authors predict that as China's economy moves away from heavy manufacturing toward cleaner sectors, many of China's cities should experience environmental progress in upcoming decades. Looking at pressing economic and environmental issues in urban China, Blue Skies over Beijing shows that a cleaner China will mean more social stability for the nation and the world.
Contents
Acknowledgments ix Chapter One: Introduction 1 Part I: A Geographic Overview of Urban Pollution Production in China Chapter Two: Made in China 21 Chapter Three: The Migration to Cities 50 Chapter Four: The Causes and Consequences of Chinese Suburbanization 76 Chapter Five: Private Vehicle Demand in Urban China 108 Part II: The Rising Demand for Green Cities Chapter Six: The Rising Demand for Blue Skies and Urban Risk Reduction 135 Chapter Seven: Recent Empirical Evidence on the Demand for Lower Pollution Levels 147 Part III: Promoting Environmental Accountability in a One-Party State Chapter Eight: The Central Government's Increased Desire to Promote Environmental Sustainability 159 Chapter Nine: Will Local Governments Create Green Cities? 186 Chapter Ten: Conclusion 212 Appendix 1 233 Appendix 2 235 Notes 237 Index 263
