BLUE SKIES OVER BEIJING

Over the last thirty years, even as China's economy has grown by leaps and bounds, the environmental quality of its urban centers has precipitously declined due to heavy industrial output and coal consumption. The country is currently the world's largest greenhouse-gas emitter and several of the most polluted cities in the world are in China. Yet, millions of people continue moving to its cities seeking opportunities. BLUE SKIES OVER BEIJING investigates the ways that China's urban development impacts local and global environmental challenges. Focusing on day-to-day choices made by the nation's citizens, families, and government, Matthew Kahn and Siqi Zheng examine how Chinese urbanites are increasingly demanding cleaner living conditions and consider where China might be headed in terms of sustainable urban growth.

Looking at pressing economic and environmental issues in urban China, BLUE SKIES OVER BEIJING shows that a cleaner China will mean more social stability for the nation and the world.

Matthew E. Kahn is professor of economics and spatial statistics at the University of Southern California.
Siqi Zheng is a professor and the director of the Hang Lung Center for Real Estate at Tsinghua University in China, and the deputy head of the university's Department of Construction Management.