Affordable housing

Housing for low-income residents - a good thing the government does - could turn out to be a bad thing, if not enough attention is paid to the quality of the buildings and not enough concern paid to the quality of life for residents.

The demolition of six such buildings still under construction because of poor quality in Beijing's suburban Daxing county is an example. With investment from the government, these buildings were to be sold as affordable houses or low-rent ones for low-income residents.

However, inspection found that the concrete that was used was not up to the required standard and the overall quality of the buildings was seriously affected. The concrete provider, the real estate developer and the quality supervision department were all found to be responsible for the problem.