Cities reaching growth 'turning point'

Getting bigger, richer doesn't solve metro center woes

An interesting theory is making the rounds. It claims to identify turning points in population scale and density where the growth of Chinese cities' sustainability will slow down or stall. The experts behind the theory are urging improvement in China's urban management and a change in the way cities are laid out with no goal beyond generating revenue.

It's difficult to improve a Chinese city's sustainability by boosting per capita GDP alone, particularly once the population exceeds 4.5 million or population density reaches 8,000 people per square kilometer, according to a recent study from the Urban China Initiative, a joint initiative of a panel of institutions, including consultancy McKinsey & Co Inc.