In the 1990s, China instituted a number of reforms designed to create a robust housing market. Since then, China has grown significantly and was investing twice as much in housing as the United States prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Taubman’s Lan Deng joined the UCLA Housing Voice Podcast to discuss what can be learned from China’s approach to housing.
Deng, professor of urban and regional planning and co-founder of the Collective for Equitable Housing (CEH), is an expert on housing policy. The podcast discussed her 2019 paper in the Journal of Urban Affairs that analyzed the dynamics of state intervention and market reforms in China.
According to Deng, the Chinese housing market is unique in a few ways; namely, it doesn’t have local property tax, and urban land is still technically owned by the government. However, it faces similar challenges as the United States, including a lack of supply in the densely populated coastal regions and a lack of affordable housing units.
“Housing policy should get the level of attention and the level of care it deserves, so that we can develop sensible policies that fit what the country needs,” Deng said. “So I think there is a big difference in my own research between these two countries. And for some of the other developing countries, I’m sure they have their own institutional context, and their own needs. I feel that it needs to recognize the importance of housing as part of the overall national economic development strategy.”
