` TRO P H Y B U ILDI N G S ‘ I N B E I J I N G ‘ S C H A N G I N G U R B A N LA N D S C A P E John Courtney with Tina Burge – TAASA Review September 2013

J ohn Courtney is an Australian urban planning adviser at the Peking University Planning Institute, living in Beijing since 2005, who is attempting to tell the China story' primarily through, in his words, "the camera lens of an urban planner".

One aspect of the story is the impact of major iconic building projects by internationalsuperstar’ architects on the changing landscape of the city. In his online report titled Urban Observations from The Center of The Middle Kingdom, John Courtney comments that to the foreigner, heritage conservation is obvious.

To the Beijinger, modernisation and improved living conditions takes priority, resulting in clearance and denser development that offsets the costs of large areas of low income housing on prime land...