Better regulation of affordable housing will help it fulfill purpose

THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF YULIN in Northwest China's Shaanxi province built an affordable housing community for local residents in 2014, and over 2,000 families have purchased apartments there. However, due to the lack of infrastructure, the community is not suitable for living in and over 90 percent of the apartments remain unoccupied. Beijing News comments:

Affordable housing is meant to be both affordable and livable. The affordable housing project in Yulin fails to serve its purpose since people cannot live in the properties as the local government failed to provide the necessary infrastructure for the community.

Did the government not take the infrastructure into consideration when drafting the plan for the community? Many officials participated in the plan; did none of them raise the issue?