Abstract
By taking the Laochengxiang area, the lilong houses, the Bund and the industrial heritage as typical examples, this paper discusses the problems related to the conservation and regeneration of built heritage in Shanghai against the backdrop of large-scale urban development and the transformation of historic spaces in the city since the 1990s. It analyses the contradiction between development and heritage conservation in the process of urban redevelopment, and proposes a resolution to such problems. Furthermore, the paper has a reflection and analysis on the specific historical context of Shanghai as a metropolis and its changes from the past to the present.
Highlights
The study of the architectural transformations in the course of the renovation of the old urban areas of Shanghai requires some basic understandings of the city, the first of which is its architectural feature determined by its size and density
In face of the rapid urban expansion of contemporary Shanghai, those who care about the rich urban cultural features of the city are questioning themselves: what happened to the remains of the glorious old Modern Shanghai? What is its fate in the renewal of the old city? Will the historic space of the metropolitan area be marginalised and fragmented in the enormous expansion of the city? These questions can only be answered by examining the pulse of the urban redevelopment of the old city of Shanghai
Between 2002 and 2004, we proposed a conceptual plan of spatial layout and development strategy for the four sections alongside Yangshupu, including the waterfront sightseeing area, ‘Yangpu Forest’ and industrial culture exhibition area, mixed urban area, and the knowledge–based residential area
Summary
The study of the architectural transformations in the course of the renovation of the old urban areas of Shanghai requires some basic understandings of the city, the first of which is its architectural feature determined by its size and density. The total area of Shanghai is 6,833 km and its current urban area which means the area within the outer ring road is 663.5 km, being 10 times and 8 times bigger respectively than the figures when the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949. At the start of the People’s Republic of China, the urban area of Shanghai was only 82.4 km while the entire city area was up to 630 km. Road includes most of the old urban area of Shanghai, and the average population density is near that at the beginning of the People’s Republic of China (SUPAB 2007, 13–14, 47, 50). In May 1990, the adoption of the Interim Regulations of the People’s Republic of China Concerning the Assignment and Transfer of the Right to the Use of the State–owned Land in the Urban Areas is a landmark turning point. The pressure of a bigger population, the demand for additional spaces, the consideration of real estate values, and the effects of intensification, have caused the sustained increase of the height and quantity of Shanghai’s highrises, and effectively created a dense forest of steel, concrete and glass
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