RICS Americas Sustainability Working Group Member Visits China

Scott Muldavin FRICS, of the RICS Americas Sustainability Working Group, visited China for eight days in March.

He paid a visit to Beijing, Xian, and Yan'an City, talking with national and local officials from the China - US Center for Sustainable Development and the Chinese Ministry of Land and Resources about sustainable land and real estate development.

"The level of building activity was astounding, and prices of land and real estate were still on the rise. The level of growth and easy government finance made the prospect of an asset bubble a real possibility, although some government officials I spoke with felt the substantial urban migration and government interventions - such as increasing the down-payment requirements on land from 20 percent to 50 percent or requiring all new projects to be 75 percent affordable housing - both of which where announced when I was there - would alleviate potential problems. I think the jury is still out on this issue."

Scott Muldavin FRICS 

As to sustainable land development, Muldavin reports that the Ministry of Land and Resources has been involved with formal training at Portland (Oregon, United States) State University under the auspices of the China-US Center for Sustainable Development for ten years.

Societal growth, farmland preservation, intensive land use, environmental/ecological protection and sustainability are key guiding forces of their policies. Development is typically high-rise, dense and transit oriented.

"Building development is proceeding so rapidly that it is hard to encourage and ensure that high levels of sustainability and energy efficiency are achieved."

Scott Muldavin FRICS

Muldavin bases this on informal discussions, not in-depth studies.

"There are many success stories in China, as scores of highly efficient buildings are being constructed, but widespread high-levels of energy efficiency and sustainability do not appear to be the norm. New building activity still dominates building retrofits."

Scott Muldavin FRICS

While the West faces many private sector challenges to achieving high levels of energy efficiency and sustainability, according to Muldavin one of the biggest challenges to implementing high levels of sustainability in China is getting agreement and coordination between the many levels of government that are involved in the real estate process.

The Ministry of Land and Resources , the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Finance and the large state-owned enterprises that are involved in most developments all play key roles, often with different goals and practices regarding sustainability.

"Implementing national policies at local levels also appears challenging given the growth goals of many communities."

Scott Muldavin FRICS