Issue 505

What Can China Teach Us About Growth?

Dictatorship, Democracy and Urbanism

SPUR's city trip to Shanghai offered some tough but important lessons for American planners.

This year SPUR’s annual city trip was to Shanghai. It was the first time we visited a city outside North America, and it afforded a glimpse into China’s phenomenal urban growth, the most significant urbanization project in human history.

Shanghai’s Regional Economy

What can the Bay Area learn from China's regional approach to economic planning?

Shanghai is the pinnacle of Chinese economic development and a good reflection of where the entire country is headed if growth continues. What can the Bay Area learn from China's regional approach to economic planning?

Learning From a World-Class Transit System

Can Shanghai’s high-tech subways and high-speed trains trump its growing love affair with the car?

Shanghai is China’s urban showcase , and transportation is one of its showpieces of scope, scale and speed. A decade ago, the city had one subway line. Today it has a grid of 11, covering 260 miles and averaging more than 5 million passenger trips a day. By 2020 all those numbers will double. Shanghai is also a hub for the world’s largest high-speed rail…

Placemaking in the New and Old City

Is Shanghai the city of the 21st century?

The Shanghainese have built an economic dynamo — and are proud of it. Last year’s World Expo rivaled the Beijing Olympics in creating a transformative new infrastructure. As a region of 23 million spread over 2,450 square miles, Shanghai can be vast and intimidating. But it is not a strange place, at least not for visitors from cities with 19th-century roots. Its historic center is…

Shanghai Municipality and the Bay Area

The Shanghai Municipality includes 17 districts as well as the city center. At 23 million people and 2,450 square miles, it is more comparable to the Bay Area than to San Francisco.

The Shanghai Municipality includes 17 districts as well as the city center. At 23 million people and 2,450 square miles, it is more comparable to the Bay Area than to San Francisco.

Urban Field Notes: Eight Eras of the Old Town — Shanghai’s Forgotten Zones

Shanghai’s old town — the Chinese City — is today considered a slum. The compact low-rise neighborhood in downtown occupies 1/3,000th of metropolitan Shanghai. Most lanes are too narrow for cars, and half the housing stock is makeshift. It’s an embarrassment to locals and a little baffling to visitors.