ABSTRACT
The principal role of urban planning in Shanghai today has come to be recognised as the management of change in the face of multiple demands on space from various economic interests. Shanghai, which was re-opened to foreign investment as an Open Coastal City’ in 1984, and which forms the heart of the Yangtse Delta Economic Region, now has the highest level of foreign capital utilised per head of population. Cities close to Shanghai, especially in southern Jiangsu, benefit from slightly lower costs compared with Shanghai and good external communications. Some cities, including Shanghai, have predetermined land prices according to a hierarchy of values that relate to spatial location within the whole city. Shanghai has one of the more advanced urban planning systems, but still suffers limitations in its attempts to influence urban development outcomes. Shanghai suffered from a lack of a ‘policy push’ throughout the early Reform period, which delayed her urban and economic transformation.
