Sustainability options for China's residential building sector

China is engaged in a massive urban development programme, together with large infrastructure investments in road and transit systems. This development is occurring in the context of a shift towards a market economy, but China is still a developing country. China and the rest of the world are poised at a critical moment of decision. For China to provide an international standard of living for its entire population using the Western model of consumption would require vast resources. Many of these resources are relatively scarce in China, and the cost of imports at world prices is prohibitive for China. Furthermore, the future resource cost and impact on the environment of operating cities in China will be overwhelming if they are developed to conventional, Western standards. This has already been recognized for industry and utilities in China, where many modernizations and energy efficiency improvements have been made. However the residential sector, which is now the fastest growing sector in terms of ene rgy and materials demands, has not received sufficient attention. One option is to advance the 'sustainable design approach' based on highly efficient buildings, transportation systems and utilities, and preserving the productive capacity of land and restoring air and water quality. China has many resourceful traditions that can form a basis for a culturally specific approach to sustainability, but foreign assistance and technology transfer will be required, as well as Government policy incentives and their implementation within China. Especially needed are clean industry technology, durable and energy efficient building systems, renewable energy systems, and environmental cleanup and recycling systems.