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What will Shanghai look like in 2040?


What will Shanghai look like in 2040?

We would be looking at a more eco-friendly, less overpopulated metropolis

park in lujiazui financial centre, Shanghai, China
More greenery, less air pollution for Shanghai in 2040. Iakov Kalinin / shutterstock

With its futuristic skyscrapers and historic allures, Shanghai can go toe to toe with the world’s best cities. Now it’s angling to become a smart city.

Ambitious changes are in store for the metropolis by the year 2040, according to a master plan revealed by the Shanghai municipal government to reporters last week. Zhuang Shaoqin, director of the city’s planning, land and resources administration, vowed to create “an excellent global city, an international economic, finance, trade, shipping and scientific innovation center, as well as a cultural metropolis.”

To that end, Shanghai will set a ceiling for population growth to 25 million in 2040, the same target set for 2020. For perspective, Shanghai’s populace stood at 24.3 million in 2014.

“The establishment of a population red line will enhance the development of a smart city,” Irene Wang, CBRE Eastern China consulting head, said. “Figuring out how to optimize new structural demands and create a better life for people in the city will become the new direction for real estate planning and projects in the future.”

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Shanghai will also limit the land area allotted for construction to 3,200 square kilometres — 200 sq km of which will be designated “reserved blank land.” In a thrust to become an “innovative, humanistic and eco-friendly city,” the city will offer 15 square metres of public green space per capita and increase forest coverage to 25 percent.

The city is also planning to reduce the average density of the pollutant PM2.5 to 20 micrograms per cubic metre. Average commuting times will be slashed to under 40 minutes, aided in part by the addition of some 1,000 km of subway lines.

“Although there is still room for improvement compared to New York, London, Paris and Tokyo, Shanghai has already taken a solid first step towards reaching the top tier global cities,” Wang said.

Read next: How China’s luxury homes are proud to be Chinese again

Source: Property Report