Shanghai offers a blueprint for waterfront renewal

The Jing'an central business district, which includes the Suhewan and West Nanjing Road functional areas in Shanghai, has joined the Global Business Districts Innovation Club. This move aligns Jing'an with over a dozen top-tier business districts from Europe, the United States, Asia, and Africa, focusing on innovation and cooperation to drive waterfront renewal and functional enhancement.

The announcement was made during an event in Shanghai on Tuesday aimed at promoting cultural exchange between the city and other world-class metropolises.

The event also marked the launch of a global initiative to collect innovative waterfront case studies. This endeavor seeks to facilitate dialogue and exchange among diverse global stakeholders, expanding the network of collaboration and sharing best practices, according to the Shanghai United Media Group and the Shanghai International Culture Association, hosts of the event.

The initiative will focus on areas that include ecological resilience, climate response, and the synergy of cultural and economic development, with the goal of making waterfronts accessible, sustainable, and an integral part of urban life.

Titled "Our Water: Flowing from Shanghai — Intercultural Dialogues Among World Cities", Tuesday's event marked the Shanghai launch ceremony of the second season of the series. The event brought together over 200 guests from home and abroad to explore how waterfronts can serve as a medium for global urban cultural dialogue.

Speakers provided insightful presentations on the open-source exchange of sustainable design, fashionable cities, and urban renewal practices between China and other countries. Their dialogue also centered on how Shanghai's riverbanks can offer advantages to Chinese enterprises looking to expand globally and how international companies entering China can view these waterfronts as ideal gateways.

"We integrated lessons from global cities like Hong Kong, Tokyo and London when designing and building Suhewan, reinforcing a people-centric approach in its development projects," said Ruan Cunfan, director of the Zhejiang-based Lonsen Group, a key developer and operator in Suhewan.

Jing'an district, positioned as a window of Shanghai's openness to the world, leverages its headquarters economy and professional services to integrate deeply into the global urban network, according to the district government.

High-caliber service institutions, such as Roland Berger and Morgan McKinley, have established a presence in Suhewan, allowing the district to gradually build an enterprise service ecosystem centered around Suhewan and extending its influence across the district and beyond.