A new space race in the city

"In September, we started a weekly Sunday Shanghainese Corner, where we teach young people the Shanghai dialect," she says. "The colorful space has made my retired life more colorful."

Another notable community micro-renewal project can be found in the Dongming subdistrict of Pudong district where social organization Clover Nature School has been spearheading a campaign to build community gardens in the area of 5 square kilometers since 2020. The organization also held a community garden festival over October and November.

Liu Yuelai, a professor at Tongji University who co-founded the organization, says the community gardens can serve as pathways that enhance bonds among people and bolster sustainable community renewal.

"There are many wasted 'negative spaces' in the city, and we can reactivate them through participatory design. Community gardens are a good vehicle to do so," he says.

Through workshops and consultations, Liu's team has helped residents to design their own gardens in deserted lots or mismanaged patches of greenery. The district's residents have currently designed about 20 small gardens.

Commercial interest

Commercial developers have also been jumping on the urban-regeneration bandwagon. Among them is AECOM China, an infrastructure consulting firm, which plans to transform an old electrical equipment factory on Wuyi Road into an office space. The company advised the property owner to hollow out the first floor stores on the street side for a pedestrian arcade, and open a small pocket square at the entrance of the old Shanghai alleys on the property for public use.