(The talentless Hammerson airheads will like this) "China's 'eco-cities': empty of hospitals, shopping centres and people"

"As part of its plan to move tens of millions of people out of the countryside, China is building hundreds of brand-new cities. Tianjin Eco-city is a relatively successful example, but many of its 'green' buildings still echo like gymnasiums"

Link to The Guardian

"Last month, China announced its new urbanisation plan, a massive feat of technical and social engineering which will move more than 100 million country-dwellers into cities over the next six years. The question is how. 

"China’s current development model has proved environmentally disastrous; ghost cities and towns have triggered fears of an impending real-estate meltdown.

"Chinese authorities began encouraging the construction of 'eco-cities' in the middle of the last decade; since then, hundreds have sprouted across the country. While the concept is vaguely defined, most eco-cities are built on once-polluted or non-arable land, comply with stringent green architectural standards, and experiment with progressive urban planning and transportation infrastructure.

"The catch is that they simply may not work – if, indeed, they get finished at all."

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Link to GOV.UK

"Government offers support for locally-led garden cities"

"Communities with ideas for a new generation of garden cities will receive support from the government to turn their ambitions into reality, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Communities Secretary Eric Pickles announced today (14 April 2014).

"A prospectus published today will help communities work up proposals for ambitious new developments, which are locally-led, include at least 15,000 homes and have the backing of existing residents.

"There is genuine enthusiasm and ambition for growth in communities across the country, but new developments must be well-designed, and bring together high-quality homes, jobs, and green spaces in communities where people want to live raise their children.

"We want to work closely with areas which bring forward strong expressions of interest to help them develop their proposals, understand the barriers to delivery and offer government brokerage and support through the Large Sites scheme and other existing schemes where it can help to unblock these.

"Ministers believe these locally-led developments will play a crucial role in delivering the number of new homes the country needs, but it is vital that they are not imposed from above."