Lujiazui
The designation of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) that catered to economic functions that were otherwise illegal under planned economy is paramount to the development of Shanghai’s Pudong. Four zones were designated with differing functions - Lujiazui’s financial services, Jinqiao’s export-oriented processing, Waigaoqiao’s tax-free zone, and Zhangqiang’s high-tech zone. They manifested the different targets for China‘s economic reintegration into the global market under China’s economic transition. Studies for Lujiazui’s strategy for development began in 1991 by the Shanghai Urban Planning Design Institute (SUPDI). An international competition was held in 1992, inviting famous architects (Richard Rogers, Dominique Perrault, Massimiliano Fuksas and Toyo Ito) to put forth their design ideas. The key concepts of Richard Rogers‘ scheme - building heights ascension, as well as the common idea of a central park, throughout all the four international submissions, were adapted into the final plans of SUPDI.
The striking image of Lujiazui’s skyline today conveys the intended image of a “global” financial area, even though many of the buildings owned and developed by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) remain products of the Chinese party-state’s transition economy. Despite the global aspirations for Lujiazui, the prioritization of motorways resulted in poor pedestrian circulation. The construction of lengthy elevated walkways as afterthought compensate for poor pedestrian connectivity. The disconnect from the waterfront and the lack of a public space framework, however, remains potentials for improvement.
Reference
Zhou, Ying. 2019. ‘Lujiazui Shanghai, Urban Paragon for a Post-Socialist China’. In The Grand Projet: Understanding the Making and Impact of Urban Megaprojects, edited by Kees Christiaanse, Anna Gasco, and Naomi C. Hanakata, 105–148. nai 010 Publishers.