4 ms·
It may seem weird to have almost-empty cities, but from a different perspective, a city like that is an amazing resource. If China ever has disaster or other cr
by jimrandomh 11y ago
It may seem weird to have almost-empty cities, but from a different perspective, a city like that is an amazing resource. If China ever has disaster or other crisis that creates lots of refugees (think Hurricane Katrina), they have a functioning city with lots of space ready for people to go to. Which is pretty awesome, when you think about it.
- nate_meurer 11y agoBut these don't really make very good "backup" cities. The housing isn't owned by the government. It's owned by investors, often individuals, and it serves as a sink for money that has nowhere else to go. Real estate and construction investment of this kind is one of the big drivers of the Chinese economy. If the government confiscates property on the scale you're talking about -- even if it's in response to a disaster -- the bottom would drop out of their financial markets. Ain't gonna happen, even in a disaster.
- seanmcdirmid 11y agoNot to mention it's the upper middle class and rich who owns these places...the one class the government really doesn't want to piss off.
- jimrandomh 11y agoI think you're giving them too little credit. The government wouldn't have to confiscate property in that scenario, they could just buy it. They're not exactly short on money.