Abstract
In China, Shanghai often serves as a place to introduce and try out new ideas. This is certainly the case with experimental urban planning and design solutions and sustainability transitions. This article identifies and evaluates the role of pilot projects and demonstration zones along the Huangpu River. These clusters and zones are supposed to guide the urban regeneration of the former industrial waterfronts and to accelerate innovative development in Shanghai and the wider Yangtze Delta Region. The Huangpu River as a whole is considered an urban lab and a showcase of ecological civilisation policies, with a strong ‘people oriented’ focus on improving the overall quality and attractiveness of urban life. Following three decades of rapid urban expansion, Shanghai’s urban development model is shifting toward one that emphasizes densification and the reuse of existing elements. The motto of Shanghai’s latest master plan is “Striving for an Excellent Global City.” One of the pathways to realize this expectation is the creation of thematic clusters for creative industries, financial institutes, AI, and technology, media and telecommunication industries. These clusters are high-density investment projects meant to support and accelerate the transformation of Shanghai into a service economy. There are important similarities between these projects in Shanghai and the role of urban labs in theories of sustainability transitions. Drawing on these theories and those of ecological civilization, this article examines how these so-called ‘experimental’ urban megaprojects along the river contribute to Shanghai’s effort to take the lead in developing sustainable urban transitions.
Highlights
This article examines recent waterfront regeneration projects in Shanghai that are expected to play an experi‐ mental and exemplary role
How can we identify and evaluate urban labs in Shanghai? In Chinese urban planning and design there are basically three different levels of experimen‐ tal projects: First, pilot projects are experiments located in one or several places to be further adjusted and expanded nationwide
Especially in the European context, are usu‐ ally limited in impact (Scholl & De Kraker, 2021), the demonstration zones and pilots described in this article have a considerable impact that redefines almost every‐ thing, by creating a ‘new world.’
Summary
This article examines recent waterfront regeneration projects in Shanghai that are expected to play an experi‐ mental and exemplary role. By reconnecting the city with the Huangpu River, the waterfronts, after losing their former port role, have once again become the main driver for urban development. Approaching this phe‐ nomenon through the lens of sustainability transition theories has not been done before in the Chinese context and fills gaps in the still limited research on recent water‐. Shanghai’s urban development has shifted from an urban expansion model with new towns (den Hartog, 2010) to a model of urban densification and regenera‐ tion within red lines that prevent the city from sprawl‐ ing outward (Shanghai Planning and Land Resource Administration, 2018a). Preliminary research results have been presented and discussed during work‐ shops and seminars in Shanghai and elsewhere
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