China is home to some of the world’s largest tech unicorns and a host of smaller companies, which are producing technology with an impact on the real estate landscape through e-commerce, smart cities and building technology. And these themes have emerged in tandem with the well-known drivers of the Chinese real estate market. China will continue to experience rapid rates of urbanization and gentrification over the next decade, which will drive changes in demand and rates of consumption. There is pent-up demand for a better quality of life – cleaner, less congested streets and better housing – which also plays to wider concerns about sustainability and the environment. The poor air quality in large Chinese cities is driving developers to find innovative ways to improve the air quality in their buildings – technology can enable all of this. Smart city initiatives, such as those launched by Alibaba, should reduce congestion and pollution. China’s connected cities will be about providing a seamless handoff between a complex and comprehensive set of apps. No single company will do everything, hence a platform where task and role-based apps can work together to solve problems and deliver a user experience that is seamless is the most likely outcome. Companies that deliver operating systems, such as Microsoft, Apple, Google and Tencent, are working hard on that seamless data handover, but it is not easy. Data privacy, security and governance all overlap and often conflict. Data means insight China retail has been relatively resilient to the effects of e-commerce, not least because much retail development post-dates the emergence of online shopping. China’s tradition of transport node-centered mixed-use development, which follows its community culture, is more than just a place to shop, but a space to gather and eat. This intersection of...

The issue of air pollution in China has been worsening in recent years, with the country forced to issue a red alert warning in January 2017 regarding toxic smog. A wide array of illnesses has been associated with air pollution, including dementia, Alzheimer’s and death. Studies reveal that by 2050, around 6.6 million people will die each year due to this problem. Thus, the development of air purifying technologies has become a critical need. The country has taken various measures to address the problem—only last year, China shut down 40 percent of its factories that failed to meet emissions standards, and announced the intention to ban non-electric cars. A year prior, in October 2016, Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde installed a 23-foot (seven meters) high tower in a creative park in Beijing that took in polluted air and released it without the dust particles. The installation produces about 282.5 cubic feet (eight cubic meters) per second and was entirely powered by electricity generated by coal-power plants in China. Still, the amount of power needed to run was very little. This particular project inspired the Chinese officials to look further into the tower solution. A year after Roosegaarde’s tower worked its magic in Beijing, a larger one was erected in the Shaanxi province in central China. South China Morning Post reports that the tower is 328 feet (100 meters) tall, and reports show it has a positive impact on the air quality in surrounding areas. However, researchers at the Institute of Earth Environment at the Chinese continue testing the tower’s efficacy—it appears that the tower improved air quality over an area of 3.9 square miles (10 square kilometers) in the nearby city of Xi’an, and produced 353 million cubic feet (10 million cubic meters) of clean...

Several landmark projects break ground in the U.S. just as headlines herald the slowdown of real estate investments by the Chinese. According to a Bloomberg report, American real estate transactions with China are slowing down for the first time since 2011. The loss of momentum is a result of constraints issued by the Chinese government to minimize capital flight. While new investments dwindle, the nation’s skylines are beginning to see the fruit of the past surge: Hong Lei, consul general of China in Chicago, reports that Chinese firms have invested nearly $13 billion in real estate throughout the Midwest in the past 15 years. A recent project, which broke ground the summer, will be one of the nation’s largest investments. With a cost of $950 million, Vista Towers of Chicago (rendering, left) will be the largest real estate investment by a Chinese company in the US. The project is a joint venture between America’s Magellan Development Group and China-based conglomerate Wanda Group. The international presence of Wanda Group spans 300 million square feet of real estate, including retail, commercial, and hospitality. Vista will be the first notable project in The Windy City. Jeanne Gang, a respected Chicago-based architect and MacArthur fellow, designed Vista Towers. Standing 93-stories tall, it will be the third tallest building in Chicago. The luxury site will include a hotel and 406 condominiums. Condo rates will range from $1 million to $18 million. Across the country, Los Angeles records that China is responsible for seven out of 18 land deals made since 2014. Oceanwide Plaza (rendering, left) will be one of the largest Chinese investments in Los Angeles. With an estimated cost around $1 billion, the nearly 5-acre site will hold three towers including a hotel, 150,000-170,000 square feet of retail,...