This article critically examines the 10th China Flower Expo as an emblematic case of green state entrepreneurialism in practice. Promoted as a flagship ecological event to advance Chongming Island’s transformation into a “world-class ecological island,” the Expo ultimately functioned less as a vehicle for sustainability transition than as a staged performance of green legitimacy, punctuated by short-term accumulation and long-term deferral. Drawing on extensive fieldwork and an integrated analytical framework that combines green state entrepreneurialism, strategic inaction, and urban political ecology, this study unpacks how ecological discourses are mobilized through mega-events to attract investment, restructure space, and consolidate state authority—while deferring substantive socio-ecological transformation. We argue that the post-Expo stagnation does not simply reflect implementation failure or greenwashing but reveals a deeper logic of risk-averse environmental statecraft. Through symbolic compliance and selective follow-through, the local state maintained the appearance of green commitment while avoiding structural changes. By foregrounding the role of strategic inaction as a mode of governance, this article contributes to critical debates on authoritarian environmentalism and urban sustainability transitions. It highlights how green entrepreneurialism, far from overcoming ecological crises, may entrench uneven socio-environmental outcomes and reproduce the contradictions it claims to resolve.

This article explores how walking can be reintroduced as an interactive and inclusive planner’s activity and how it could be reestablished as an effective method for spatial research and planning intervention. This study is, first and foremost, meant as a provocation for planners to ‘start walking again’ and understand sites, places and context by observing and listening. Walking creates time for immersive exploration within the place of practice. It is a way to collect diverse stakeholders’ insights and expands a vision. At the same time, walking is a cry for sustainability; in fact, walking paves the way to sustainability. It offers reflection in the context of postgrowth and degrowth thinking. Our assumption is that by deliberately slowing down, we can find sustainable alternatives instead of technocratic solutions because it opposes overconsumption, big projects and depletion of our planet. Moreover, by walking, we can discover existing, hidden values and find alternative visions for a sustainable future. In our research, we test this especially for peripheral rural areas on medium distance of metropolitan conurbations, which continuously slip under the planners’ radar. Based on experiments with walking as a radical and social activity, in this article we explain how walking can be an innovative practice, something poetic becoming political.

How can the Global North oriented and welfare state rooted Sustainability Transitions theories be enriched with the Chinese and communist state rooted Ecological Civilization thinking that has been included in the Chinese constitution since 2007, to make it able to evaluate the making of the direct-controlled municipality Shanghai into an institutional frontrunner of sustainable transitions in urban planning and design with its prime waterfront as exemplary ‘urban lab’? Around this central question, this dissertation examines how Shanghai's coastal and waterfront developments have changed over the past two decades under the influence of shifts in Chinese state capitalism towards what is called an Ecological Civilization. Two cases along the waterfronts of Shanghai – one on former docklands in Shanghai’s Central City, and one on peri-urban Chongming Island ¬– have been examined to test how both lines of thinking can enrich each other, and if a sustainable transition can be done more efficiently and convincingly in a centrally controlled society than in a non-autocratic (liberal) society. What lessons does the Chinese approach in Shanghai offer for elsewhere, and how can different approaches and practices reinforce each other in spatial planning and strategies for a sustainable transition? This dissertation emphasizes that ecological civilization thinking can offer hopeful starting points for sustainable transitions but can only work well if sufficient 'checks and balances’ are included. It gives suggestions to improve the accessibility, inclusivity, and vibrancy of Shanghai’s waterfronts, and to mitigate ecological degradation in the context of an urban delta.

Waterways played a crucial role in the emergence of Shanghai as a cosmopolitan city and world port. Over the years the spatial and functional relationships between the city and ports and hinterland have been changing continuously. In Shanghai, like other port cities, almost all ports and related industries are placed out beyond the urban fringes, to form decentralized regional clusters, while former docklands are quickly transformed into attractive urban waterfronts. Simultaneously there is a growing physical and socio‐economic gap with the rural hinterland. During Shanghai’s brutal lockdown in Spring 2022, due to China’s rigid zero‐Covid policy, citizens were without food and other supplies while fully loaded ships were lined up waiting in the port. Also, deliveries from surrounding rural areas were temporarily halted. This article focuses on recent developments but is based on experiences in previous centuries from a long durée perspective. It elaborates on how the Yangtze River Delta urbanized along shipping channels and examines changing relationships between city and port, between urban and rural, and between man and nature. What role did shipping channels play and how to rebalance various spatial claims: urban, rural, port interests, and environmental concerns?

Since early this century, multiple large-scale commercial projects in Shanghai and other Chinese cities incorporate heritage assets for the creation of new identities after de-contextualisation trough demolition of complete city blocks. This tabula rasa approach resulted in a discontinuity of the meaning and use that local communities gave to these heritage buildings and a re-appropriation by new users in a context of consumerism. This paper studies two cases in Shanghai city center: Jing An Kerry Centre and Greenland Bund Centre, where heritage buildings related to the memories of Communism, trading societies and Christianity are incorporated into high-density high-end commercial redevelopment. As we argue, the study of heritage conservation methods and urban design approaches reveals profound discontinuities in the position and meaning of heritage assets, which respond to important political and economic performance requirements. This paper puts forward two main arguments. Firstly, that the choice of heritage conservation methods and design approaches aligns with the new official narrative of the desired image of Shanghai as a prosperous global city rooted in Communism. Secondly, that the de-contextualisation of heritage assets within a new corporate urban context motivates specific heritage-related landscape, urban and architectural design responses, that contribute to their re-contextualisation in a new sanitized urban environment.

The subtitle of Shanghai’s latest Master Plan (2017–2035) is “Striving for an Excellent Global City.” According to this plan, Shanghai wants to compete, and possibly surpass, other global cities such as New York, London, Paris, Singapore, and Tokyo in terms of economy, image, and quality of life. The plan’s authors state that “the world has stepped into an era of ecological civilization that puts environmental friendliness and humanistic approach first;” Shanghai aims “to play the pioneering role in the reform and opening-up into this new era and set up the pace for innovation and development.” To achieve its aims, the Master Plan includes ecological ambitions and promises, such as a five percent reduction of total carbon emissions, a halving of particulate matter emissions, a ban on raw waste landfills, and the development of more than 300 square kilometers of new green structures, all to be realized before 2035.

This chapter highlights the tension between China’s push towards growth and urbanization against the need to safeguard its cities from environmental threats. As will be described, this tension has played out in stark terms in Shanghai, where leaders are grappling with how to advance their development objectives, which have historically relied on reclaiming wetlands, while adapting to rising seas and strengthening storms.

In China, Shanghai often serves as a place to introduce and try out new ideas. This is certainly the case with experimental urban planning and design solutions and sustainability transitions. This article identifies and evaluates the role of pilot projects and demonstration zones along the Huangpu River. These clusters and zones are supposed to guide the urban regeneration of the former industrial waterfronts and to accelerate innovative development in Shanghai and the wider Yangtze Delta Region. The Huangpu River as a whole is considered an urban lab and a showcase of ecological civilisation policies, with a strong ‘people oriented’ focus on improving the overall quality and attractiveness of urban life. Following three decades of rapid urban expansion, Shanghai’s urban development model is shifting toward one that emphasizes densification and the reuse of existing elements. The motto of Shanghai’s latest master plan is “Striving for an Excellent Global City.” One of the pathways to realize this expectation is the creation of thematic clusters for creative industries, financial institutes, AI, and technology, media and telecommunication industries. These clusters are high-density investment projects meant to support and accelerate the transformation of Shanghai into a service economy. There are important similarities between these projects in Shanghai and the role of urban labs in theories of sustainability transitions. Drawing on these theories and those of ecological civilization, this article examines how these so-called ‘experimental’ urban megaprojects along the river contribute to Shanghai’s effort to take the lead in developing sustainable urban transitions.

Recent ecological civilization policies make clear that China is willing to play a leading role in a sustainable green transition. But there are still discrepancies in definitions, appreciation and evaluation of ecological assets. This paper examines how Shanghai works on a sustainability transition, with a focus on its main urban waterfronts and coastline, in the context of an extremely high population concentration, world’s highest real estate values, and continuous urban development pressure. This paper will mobilize insights from the academic field of sustainability transitions to show how urban planning and design ambitions are translated into realities on the ground. In its latest Shanghai Master Plan (2017-2035), the city commits itself to set an example for other Chinese cities. Moreover, Shanghai’s city leaders want to inspire and push cities internationally to become more adaptable and resilient, both in the Global South and Global North. The spatially most radical action to realize this ambition is to create “a green and open eco-network” with 60% of Shanghai’s municipal territory to be used for ecological purposes, mostly wetlands. This paper will examine three urban planning and design projects that have key positions within this eco-network. On all three sites there are land-use conflicts, between urban development and ecological (re-)development. The first case is the recent transformation of no less than 120 km of former industrial dominated waterfront along the Huangpu River, of which half was completed between 2016 and 2021. The second case, Nanhui Coastal Wetland Reserve with adjacent Lingang New City; and the third case, Chongming Eco-Island, started both around the millennium and had a 2020 planning horizon. After learning lessons from their previous sustainable innovation journeys these latter two projects entered a new phase as part of the eco-network. The paper concludes with seven practical recommendations aimed to reduce discrepancies between expectations and their implementation in practice: 1) use clear definitions; 2) co-create a shared vision for the future; 3) stop building on vulnerable locations; 4) create conditions of social learning; 5) supervision needs to go beyond planning boundaries; 6) step beyond an anthropocentric approach; and 7) foster a more experimental approach.

Countless waterways defined both the rural and urban landscape and related daily life activities in China’s Yangtze River Delta for many centuries. However, much of these bodies of water disappeared due to extremely rapid urbanization in the last three decades and this process is ongoing. This paper critically assesses how the appreciation and usability of the remaining urban watersides is currently changing drastically by examining recent waterfront projects in the Direct Controlled Municipality of Shanghai. This research mobilizes insights from the academic field of Sustainability Transitions – specifically on expectations, experimentation and innovation journeys – to explain how, in the context of extreme urban pressure, well-manicured new urban watersides are often visually attractive but functionally inadequate. The paper concludes with recommendations to reverse this trend and to create more sustainable and attractive watersides. By describing, comparing and evaluating three cases, this paper by Dutch Shanghai-based urban designer and researcher Harry den Hartog also wishes to contribute to the discourse on China’s urban transition by critically examining the gap between expectations and outcomes in daily life reality.

Interview published in book "See Play Eat Talk: Gwangju Folly III: Where the Everyday and the Unexpected Intersect, Chun Eui-Yong, Yoo Uoo Sang, Wee Jinbok, Kim Hangsung, Eleonoor Jap Sam, eds. (Heijningen: Jap Sam Books, 2017): 313-327

Chongming Island, a large island off the Shanghai Coast, is China's first and only endorsed eco-island. The Chinese central government and the Shanghai provincial government have placed high bets on making Chongming a world-class example of sustainable urbanization and involved the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) for valuable knowledge transfer. However, to what extent is it feasible to preserve the green, open and natural character of the island given the enormous urbanization pressure Shanghai faces? In this contribution, the authors examine to what extent the lofty goals formulated in the various national, provincial and local plans are effectively implemented. They claim that existing assessments are useful, but rely too heavily on technocratic indicator systems to allow for insights regarding on the ground implementation. They analyse existing assessment studies on eco island development, but then develop a broader planning and policy oriented assessment matrix of their own which they apply in an independent field study. They find that the Shanghai and Chongming authorities are generally taking their eco island development task seriously through restricting urban development to certain locations, opening eco-parks, developing an integrated water system, and invest substantial resources into making it happen. However, a sustainable public transport system is still missing and at a few locations commercially attractive to real estate development villa parks and skyscrapers have emerged. By synthesizing data from existing evaluations with information retrieved following the format of their assessment matrix, an analysis of the eco island's implementation which connects more closely with the situation experienced on the ground has been generated.

China's ongoing transition to a modern urban-centered economy is accompanied by ambitions of sustained economic growth as well as promises of environmentally sustainable futures for its cities. In this paper we critically assess how these two ideas are combined and translated into realities on the ground by examining three low-carbon development projects in Shanghai: Anting New Town, Dongtan Eco-City, and Hongqiao CBD's low-carbon transportation hub. By mobilizing insights from the academic field of Sustainability Transitions – specifically on expectations, experimentation and innovation journeys – we show how the original plans derailed and why until now there has been limited success in living up to the promises of sustainability. To realize the promises more fully in future projects we identify three broad lessons for the actors involved: they should nurture a set of parallel pathways, foster a more experimentalist mindset, and learn to embrace uncertainty.

Delta's are strategic, but at the same time vulnerable (Ke, 2014; Balica, Wright, & van der Meulen, 2012). This paper will explore the (spatial) consequences of urban pressure on Shanghai's rural fringes, focusing on the case of Chongming Eco-Island, which belongs administratively to Shanghai. The current top-down policy to transform Chongming into an Eco-Island is not yet working as promised in various policies. Via field observations, interviews with more than twenty-five stakeholders, and policy reviews, this paper explores to what extent the plans of the national government on Chongming Eco-Island are being implemented and how it is possible to steer the developments into a more sustainable direction. To be able to mitigate the negative impacts for the natural and man-made environment a transition in spatial planning and design approaches is urgently needed. For this to occur, it has to be made clear which factors can explain the process of seemingly unbridled urbanisation at Shanghai's fringes, and which role planning processes play in this development. The so-called Layers-Approach will be used to visualize this complexity of different spatial claims and interest. This approach has been proven to be useful as a tool for classification to be able to distinguish priorities and responsibilities for policy choices. Based on this, some recommendations will be made in this paper to steer the spatial development into a more resilient direction and hopefully mitigate the collateral damage for nature and society caused by current spatial planning and design practices.

This paper gives a critical view on the incredible growth of Shanghai since the millennium. It focuses on the search for a new identity by this metropolis, both in its new town development as well as on the transformation and regeneration of downtown areas. By explaining the most important planning policies and trends with the help of recent key projects, and analysing how these projects developed over time, the context and challenges of Shanghai’s rapid urban transformation become clearer. Especially the challenges for urban preservation and quest for an identity in this continuously changing urban landscape will become more insightful. Based on these insights recommendations are given on how Shanghai can be exemplary, within China and internationally in terms of urban development, urban regeneration, and becoming a more future-proof city. The paper concludes with some trends and future perspectives.

This paper addresses the spatial and social fragmentation of Chinese cities. Starting from the tenth five-year plan (2001-2006), China has considered urbanisation mainly as a way to stimulate economic growth. The creation of liveable cities appears to be of secondary importance. China's standard method of urban expansion is based on the creation of superblocks - large-scale spatial units that are built at the same time and with borders that are generally clearly defined by infrastructure or natural barriers. Building these settlements, which are not unlike urban villages, leads to an increasingly fragmented urban landscape with little cohesion between the various districts. Xiaoqu as urban DNA is partly the cause of this fragmentation. However, this model can also generate solutions to bring these individual pieces of city closer.