Hongqiao: Vision, Planning, and Design of the Project

In this chapter, I investigated the planning and layout of the Hongqiao project, focusing on its aims, main elements, planning process and land preparation. In the chapter, I argued that the importance of the project can be attributed to the need to accelerate the pace of development in the west of Shanghai and bring about industrial and spatial transformation in the context of place competition from within and outside Shanghai. The purpose of the whole project was to kick-start development by providing a new economic growth pole through the development of service industries, to integrate Shanghai with the Yangtze River Delta through the construction of a transportation hub and to create a poly-centred city by means of the development of a business district. The chapter showed that Shanghai Municipal Government has played a leading role in the Hongqiao project in terms of the establishment, planning and siting of the project and preparing of land in the process of project development. Through the joint efforts of government at different levels, after 6 years of intensive construction, the Hongqiao transportation hub is complete, a new landmark in Shanghai, and the Hongqiao business zone is currently being built. After completion of the Hongqiao project, the development land has been converted from immature to mature status, allowing local (i.e., district) government to reap substantial rewards from the project. The chapter showed how the construction of mega urban projects has been central to Chinese-style competitive urbanism.