Editorial

摘要

Every title of AD brings with it new discoveries and revelations. However, never has a single issue shifted my worldview and perceptions so much. China's geography and demographics alone require a different mindset. China may have a slightly smaller landmass than the US (3.7 million to its 3.8 million square miles), but the US's population is diminutive when compared to that of China: China has over a third more people. For those of us who have lived most of our lives on an overcrowded northern European island, the scale of China is difficult to grasp. It is, however, the rate and intensity of urban change in China over the last three decades that make it truly unprecedented. At a time when a 15-hectare (38-acre) site, like that at Battersea Power Station, has proved a stumbling block for developers in London, 95 per cent of Beijing's buildings have been razed and replaced.