Modern Urban Housing in China: 1840-2000

pub_fac_rowe_modern_urban_housing_chinaModern Urban Housing in China: 1840-2000 is an examination of the development of urban housing in China over the past 160 years. From China’s modernization after the Opium Wars to the latest trends adopted after the market reforms of the 1980s, this book offers a broad overview of the developments in building construction and design. Extensively illustrated and written by a team of Chinese and Western experts, it is addressed to anyone interested in the modernization and architecture of China.

Urban housing in China is one of the most important components of China’s modernization, industrialization, and urbanization. The period from 1840 to 2000 saw great changes in Chinese policy and society and is discussed in three stages: the modernization of China’s semi-deudal, semi-colonial society, the rise of publicly owned housing under socialism in the People’s Republic of China, and the rapid growth of a new market economy under Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s.

When examining changes in urban housing types, the authors take into account not only conventional architectural history, but also underlying political economic, social, technological, and cultural forces. The result is a complete picture of the history of modern urban housing in China based on extensive literature and numerous field studies.

Prestel