The origins of the modern park system of the International Settlement in Shanghai (1899-1929)

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study focuses on the emergence of the modern park system of the International Settlement in Shanghai in the early 20th century. Particular attention is given to the international context, in order to identify ideas that triggered the establishment of parks, playgrounds, minor parks and tree-lined streets locally. The intention of developing a park system commenced after the appointment of Kew gardeners to supervise the development of parks and open spaces from 1899. This study shows how a park system was guided by the idea of reducing greenspace inequality. Modern notions of park design, breathing spaces, the playground movement and the City Beautiful bore directly on the park system of the International Settlement. We conclude that the creation of the park system derived from the internationalisation of landscape planning and design in late 19th and early 20th centuries; the park system was a pioneer of its kind in modern China.