Shanghai's suburbs to be comprehensively optimized during the 14th Five-Year Plan
Urban development will play a major role in Shanghai during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), with a monumental amount of projects across the whole city creating opportunities for global companies.
A major part of Shanghai's urban development over the next five years will center on the development of the suburbs that surround the city, building them into comprehensive areas that serve all aspects of life from residential, retail, leisure and entertainment needs, to those of industry and commerce.
Circling the central area of Shanghai, and from northwest to southeast, the five suburbs are Jiading district, Qingpu district, Songjiang district, Fengxian district, and Nanhui in Shanghai Pudong New Area.
According to the city's 14th Five-Year Plan and Long-Term Vision for 2035, by 2025, the number of permanent residents of the five suburbs will reach about 3.6 million, with the GDP of each suburb hitting 1.1 trillion yuan ($170.1 billion). By 2035 these suburbs will become "comprehensive independent nodes "driving the development of the Yangtze River Delta, according to the city government.
Apart from building more infrastructure around the city, the Shanghai government aims to increase its soft power by creating a better and happier life for residents.
Li Qiang, Shanghai's Party chief, said in the plenary meeting of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China on June 22, that many aspects of hard power in the city meet top-level requirements among major destinations worldwide, including the development of its economy, finance, trade, transportation and scientific innovation. However, there is still room for Shanghai to improve its soft power.
Li said that urban soft power is mainly about an intangible strength, guided and formed by value, culture and systems.
Guided by Li's remarks, the Shanghai government will take measures to support the development of related industries in the next five years.
According to the five-year plan for the cultural industry released on Sept 2, Shanghai will produce no less than five outstanding TV and film productions, and two or more high-quality theater performances every year, from now till 2025.
A series of new cultural facilities, such as the east wings of the Shanghai Library and the Shanghai Museum, the Grand Shanghai Opera House and the children's library in Pudong, will also be completed.
The city government also unveiled development plans to upgrade the banks of the Huangpu River and add more green space over the next five years to create a better living environment for residents.
By the end of 2025, Shanghai will add 20 kilometers of waterfront walkways and 400 hectares of green space along the Huangpu River, which opened 45 km of riverside walkways to the public in 2018. The city also announced the Thousand Parks Program, with the goal to have 1,000 parks in Shanghai by 2025, and 2,000 parks by 2035.
The city's efforts to boost urban development across different sectors is hoped to foster a new round of economic development and provide opportunities for businesses, including design companies and urban planners, big and small.
"There is room in the market for everyone－large or small firms, local or foreign, as the market in China is large and diversified," said Karen Cvornyek, principal and president of Asia at B+H Architects.
"As China's financial center, Shanghai is a fast-growing, dynamic metropolitan city, with strong legal, political, social and business environments," Cvornyek said.
"The city's business ecosystem has attracted the best talent in China and from around the globe, making it an ideal city for international companies like B+H," she said.
Headquartered in Toronto, B+H provides a full-spectrum of solutions in architecture, strategy, planning, landscaping, interior design, experience design and consulting services. In 1992, it opened a studio in Shanghai after winning a competition to design the Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport.
For B+H, its studio in Shanghai has played a significant role in building a base from which it supports its clients across the region and fueled expansion into more places throughout Asia, according to Cvornyek.
"As one of the first foreign architects to establish a presence in Shanghai, we have more than a quarter of a century of experience working with local clients, and have already played a significant role in the urban development of China. Back in 1992, Shanghai was the obvious choice for our international architects to begin their collaboration with local design talent and clients, and it remains the best choice to this day," Cvornyek said.