TRAFFIC FLOW SHANGHAI
every year a new shape - structural changes every three years[1]

Robert Scheutz

Summary

The Yangtze River Delta, Shanghai-Nanjing-Hangzhou is undergoing a radical upheaval process - the dimension and the speed of Shanghai′s development exceeds European thinking.

Between 1978 and 1990 about €3 billion were spent on urban infrastructure projects, in the next six years between 1991 and 1997 the investment exceeded €18 billion. In the early eighties the construction of the whole public mass transport system started from scratch, following the strategic neglecting by the Central Government in Beijing. Today, after the reforms of Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin, a former mayor of Shanghai, it is said that the city′s large construction projects are the PRC Government′s ′cuddles′.

2002 about 80 urban infrastructure projects with an investment of €6,5 billion were under construction, supporting àAIR TRAFFIC àRAIL TRAFFIC àROAD TRAFFIC and àSHIPPING.

In my opinion the rapid changes in the transport infrastructure will change more than the map of the city or the mere building reality - it will change the city′s timescale.

Firstly I want to focus on the meaning of the transport issue for China′s and Shanghai′s economy and competitiveness. Shanghai has a great potential, but today it lacks fluency. The PRC Central Government, with it′s rising conscious of China′s global role, has realized this fact. The new economic and political ambition has overcome stone-age Maoism of bleeding white ′decadent′ cities - Pudong New Area with China′s stock exchange in Luijazui demonstrates this ambition.

The strategic position on the China Sea and the estuary of the Yangtze River enables Shanghai to function as East Asia′s main gate, both for domestic and supranational trade. The current deep water port and dredging projects combined with new road and rail connections to the rest of the PRC and its neighbours create the ′right flow′ for growing, like the comparison of the GDP and the container throughput shows.

However China′s new economic ′XIAHAI′ policy (promoting entrepreneurship) separates severely from the governments restrictive social control, leading to the next issue - mobility und urbanization. On the one hand the improvement of the mass transport infrastructure like the extension of six further metro lines until 2005 increases the local mobility. Today Shanghai is characterized by a high dense core and a low density outside core, such as the comparison with London shows. The disproportion in the urban structure is a by-product of the neglect transport system - the first metro line was launched only eight years ago. "Better a bed in Puxi, than a house in Pudong" expresses the former traffic condition consequencing in a shortage of living space.

Simply the new infrastructure measures will urbanize larger parts of Shanghai. Beginning with Pudong the development will continue in the outskirts as well as in currently ′unexploited′ areas like Chongming Island.

Connected to the progress of Shanghai a series of problems occur, particularly in road traffic. Motorization will increase significantly. The Government responds with an 3600km-road-building programme. Double level elevated highways cut urban structures regardless of the resident population and pollution effects.

However the methods of urban planning remain pragmatic even when there′s the chance to integrate the traffic flow into the urban infrastructure, like the development of Pudong New Area shows.

The people of Shanghai live in space but think in time.
The advances in the transport infrastructure will fasten the cities pace.

00 INTRODUCTION - dimension and speed

Due to the complexity and the continuing changes this paper makes no demand for giving settled descriptions - the attempt is to analyse the basic transport system and further to sketch relevant urban development patterns, like Pudong New Area.

The Yangtze River Delta, Shanghai-Nanjing-Hangzhou is undergoing a radical upheaval process - the dimension and the speed of Shanghai′s Development exceeds European thinking:

• The annual construction works in Pudong New Area alone are comparable with the ones of complete Spain;[2]
• Shanghai has one of the fastest growing metro systems in the world - from the current operable 65km to more than 180km by 2005, 16times faster than Barcelona.[3]

Between 1978 and 1990 about €3 billion were spent on urban infrastructure projects, in the next six years between 1991 and 1997 the investment exceeded €18 billion.[4]

In the early eighties the construction of the whole public mass transport system started from scratch, following the strategic neglecting by the Central Government in Beijing.[5]

Today, after the reforms of Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin, a former mayor of Shanghai, it is said that the city′s large construction projects are the PRC Government′s ′cuddles′. [6]

2002 about 80 urban infrastructure projects with an investment of €6,5 billion were under construction, supporting àAIR TRAFFIC àRAIL TRAFFIC àROAD TRAFFIC and àSHIPPING.[7]

01 SHANGHAI BASICS - density and growth

[...]

[1] cf. Vöckler, Kai. (2000) Peking Shanghai Shenzen: Cities of the 21st century. Frankfurt: Campus: 387.

[2] cf. Schittich, Christian. (1999) "Construction Site Shanghai - a Brief Outline". In: Detail 1999/7: 1175.

[3] cf. metroPlanet: Shanghai. (2003) http://www.metropla.net/as/shan/shanghai.htm (01-06-2003),
cf. metroPlanet: Barcelona. (2003)
http://de.geocities.com/metroplanet_barcelona/bcnmetro.htm (01-06-2003)

[4] cf. Martin, Volker. (1999) "Shanghai zur Jahrtausendwende". In: Stadtbauwelt 1999/24: 1343.

[5] cf. Hoffmann-Loss, Fanny. (1999) "Wettlauf mit der Zeit". In: Stadtbauwelt 1999/24: 1363.

[6] cf. Warner, Torsten. (1999) "Ist der Himmel grenzenlos?" In: Stadtbauwelt 1999/24: 1384.

[7] cf. www.china.org.cn (2002) "City plans big urban projects". In: eastday.com 01-03-2002.