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How to protect history from the bulldozers
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THE World Expo 2010 Shanghai was held under the slogan “Better City, Better Life.” Some experts advocate that modern urban development needs to preserve a city’s “nostalgia” to create a better life for residents.
The Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences recently held a form on the theme “The Greatest Story: Memory, Imagination and Identity in the Making of World Cities.” It drew participants from China and around the world to discuss aspects of urbanization.
“Some of Chinese cities have lost themselves in business and capital,” says He Jianhua, vice president of the academy. “Many cities have similar skylines and buildings, and they have lost their uniqueness by copying each others’ landmarks.”
By contrast, cities such as Rome and Paris have retained their unique look for centuries, he noted, which creates “nostalgia” for every person born and raised there.
Another speaker Huang Changyong, deputy director of the Shanghai Theater Academy, expressed a similar idea.
A native of Huangchuan in Henan Province, Huang says he used to return frequently to the family home during his doctoral studies in Shanghai. He was distressed to see it changing with each visit.
“It was not the hometown I recognized anymore,” he recalls. “Everything changed, and the places of my good memories were all gone.”
In its pursuit of modernity, Shanghai’s skyscrapers have become the hallmark of the city. Now, after years of breakneck development, some people are questioning whether something critical is missing in the process.
Indeed, the city’s urban planners are now taking heed of cultural heritage in development blueprints.
Tang Jun, president of the Shanghai Industrial Development Co, told the forum that his company has set a good example in redevelopment planning for the North Bund area in Hongkou District.
“The area played a significant role in modern Shanghai history, with its population of Jews during World War II,” Tang said. “That left us great cultural legacies, such as the Tilanqiao Prison and the Ohel Moshe Synagogue. When the government decided to redevelop the area, we wanted to preserve that history and make them icons of the area.”
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