Destructive construction and constructive conflicts

摘要

China's economic development has been rapid. Thanks to the process of reform and opening up, growth has averaged around 10% a year for the last three decades. As a result, China has become the world's second largest economy. However, a heavy cost is being paid for this economic boom, and unprecedented challenges face China: environmental degeneration, resource depletion, imbalanced development between different regions, a widening gap between rich and poor, growing corruption, and social unrest. In the building sector, 'massive construction went hand in hand with massive destruction' (p. 1), with domicide - i.e. the eradication of a home against the will of its dwellers - becoming a hot topic of media coverage.