Shanghai: Hybrid Urbanisms Create Profitability, Tension, and Unknown Trajectories

The rapid pace of development in China has resulted in a phenomenon that will begin to shape the urban fabric of its major metropolitan areas. Shanghai is no stranger to this rampant change. Like many international cities that are rich with history, Shanghai has become an urban microcosm that includes a series of unique neighborhoods that have been shaped over time and are stitched together forming a singular urban context. The charming nature and history of the city has since been depleted in certain areas as developers have opted to eradicate the traditional housing typologies in favor of larger high-density housing blocks. While these new developments provide an enriched style of living with modern luxuries, they simultaneously erase the character of Shanghai that has been layered throughout time, and ultimately, the erection of such mega-blocks creates a stale and stagnant context to a once culturally rich skyline.

The aforementioned method of development is an extreme approach that has been used quite often in the residential sectors of the city. A slightly more sensitive design ideology is demonstrated in a commercial project called Xintiandi. As seen in the photo at right (taken on my recent trip to Shanghai), Xintiandi is a two block long strip of modern shopping, entertainment, and restaurants. This particular project can be viewed as a hybrid between a master-planned development and historic preservation. The area was completely demolished and re-built to accommodate the intended programming of the site. Although it is a ground-up construction project, the design called to retained some of the charm of the historical buildings through the use of salvaged bricks and ornamentation. So, from a historic preservation point of view, the site was constructed with a sensitive material palette, however; the buildings are essentially modern structures that house an entirely new use and intention. The original design philosophy, according to a report from the Urban Land Institute, aimed to create a scene where “people walking the lanes…step on the same gray flagstones and see the same red and black bricks, lacquered doors, and stone gate doorframes as those who walked there generations before.”  While the intentions are worth mentioning, I would argue that this experience is a marketing ploy that is not realized and falls short of the sensitive approach of which the developer speaks. The actual authenticity of the landscape is comparable to any of the major Las Vegas hotels which strive to emulate famous cities such as Venice or Paris. Economically, the project has far exceeded expectations and also provides a playground for Shanghai’s aristocrats and tourists. Unfortunately, the impact on the local residents who lack the resources to afford the twelve dollar lychee martinis and eight dollar pastries extends far beyond the two-block site. Xintiandi has become such a success that it has triggered the emergence of high-density luxury condos and offices to emerge on every site within a twenty-block radius. This sudden increase in modern development has not only inflated the regional cost of living out of the native resident’s reach, but it has also dramatically changed the urban fabric of a significant portion of Shanghai. For better or worse, Xintiandi has become a major node of interest within the landscape of the city and an economic engine for real estate development.

Perhaps the most current and interesting site of recent work in Shanghai can be found in a region known as Taikang Lu. This area is an example of adaptive re-use at its purest form. In the mid-1990’s the block consisted of dilapidated housing and industrial buildings. The government was faced with the decision of what to do with the aging area and in 1998 they chose to preserve a large pencil factory and convert it into an artist studio. Since then, creative professionals of all trades have taken up spaces along Taikang Lu and inserted studios, cafes, boutiques and galleries into the ground floor of a majority of the block. The district has taken a slow, organic and less master-planned approach to development that in the case of this sensitive area seems more appropriate. Since these modern storefronts are inserted into the existing historical fabric (as seen at left), the resultant space is a labyrinth of complex programmatic relationships and adjacencies. Along any given alley the scene can involve local residents playing cards in their sleepwear, next to an Australian businessman sipping lattes, across from the local fish market. This juxtaposition of old and new, and rich and poor, has created a complex layering of activity that has enriched the experience of Taikang Lu. While other master-planned developments, like the invasive housing blocks, erase centuries of urban layering, Taikang Lu injects modern innovation into an existing condition that ultimately preserves the historical context of the city.

Although Taikang Lu has become a successful precedent for urban rejuvenation and adaptive re-use, it also raises its own issues of economy and displacement. Currently, a stalemate exists between developers and residents of the aging slum because merchants could not justify paying the relocation costs that the locals are demanding to live outside in the inflated markets of Shanghai. At the same time, many locals feel that the incoming businesses and tourists that they attract are invading their neighborhoods and are causing tension within the public realm.  According to the Shanghaiist, some residents have even posted banners in protest of the gentrification of Taikang Lu.  In contrast to this, the locals who have been relocated have received a substantial increase in quality of life by being moved to a more luxurious area. From here, the region and the city of Shanghai alike, must explore new trajectories in which the quality of life can improve for everyone. How will the local residents who choose to stay in Taikang Lu begin to adapt their lives in order to profit from the presence of this new social group? Are modern ground-up operations, like Xintiandi, or more contextually sensitive developments like Taikang Lu more appropriate for Shanghai? Both developments have opposing positive and negative implications, but ultimately share the same goal of preserving culture while encouraging future innovation and invention.