Affordable housing locations disappoint

• Source: Global Times
• [15:09 August 18 2010]
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By Shen Weihuang

Property experts and government officials have responded to complaints that accommodation offered under Shanghai's affordable housing scheme is too far from the city center by saying that it is hard to set aside housing for low-income residents in downtown areas.

A female resident of Xuhui district surnamed Zhao became the first person to buy a house under the scheme on Monday when she signed a contract with a bank to purchase a residence in Minhang district.

Another successful applicant, surnamed Zhang, said that while the property he plans to buy is just a quarter of the average house price in the area, it is 30 kilometers from People's Square, while his previous house on Panyu Road was just 8 kilometers away.

"I have to double, even triple my transportation spending if I want to go to places like Xujiahui or Huaihai Road," Zhang told the Global Times yesterday. "But compared to my old house, the new one is very good, except for the location."

Although the Xuhui district government began building affordable housing in the district, it was forced to halt construction in 2008 when around 6,000 residents objected. The residents claimed that the land had been earmarked for public infrastructure and amenities, including kindergartens and senior welfare facilities, according to China Business Weekly.

Yu Haoqing, a resident who bought an apartment in Xuhui in 2003, told the Global Times that he had based his decision to buy on the understanding that infrastructure in the area would be built up over the next five years.

The Xuhui government subsequently relocated the site of its affordable housing project to Minhang district.