>> Wait, author contrasts speed of development in China with a criticism of urban renewal in America without even addressing property rights in China? Those ultra modern subways and apartments of Chengdu didn't happen without many families being displaced
Why are there "nail houses" (see https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2014/apr/15/china...) in China but not the US? In almost all of those examples, a similar property owner in the US would have been forced to give up their property under imminent domain.