The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[DewDiligence]

China's leaders reaffirmed their intention to turn urbanization into a powerful engine to drive growth and remake the economy, saying they would encourage rural residents to move to smaller cities, rather than Beijing, Shanghai and other megacities.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304202204579259221407331500

From an environmental standpoint, encouraging rural migrants to move to small and medium-sized cities—rather than Shanghai, Bejing, Guangzhou, or Wuhan—seems like a no-brainer.

Also see:

• #msg-86280699 for the impact of urban migration on GDP growth;

• #msg-70416781 for a related story on subsidized housing; and

• #msg-56438958 for a chart comparing China’s urbanization rate to that of other countries.