Shanghai Caught In Web Of Technology

An excess of telephone, fiber-optic and electrical wires criss-crossing the city is just one of the problems related to the city's recent explosion of technological advancements.

1 minute read

December 6, 2003, 7:00 AM PST

By David Gest


The wires "are everywhere, and they're gumming up the works...[the government is] mounting a campaign, asking the masses for help -- and unrepentantly yanking down wayward wires as it goes...as of earlier this year, Shanghai had some 7,850 miles of above-ground wires within its outer-ring road...The wire jungle is also partially responsible for a ban on kites in Shanghai's 125 parks; too much tangling...[the city's plans to bury the wires] are four times more expensive than they should be...because they require costly efforts to protect historical sites...The progress is no accident, but rather the result of policy. No other Chinese city can match the investment -- human, financial and educational -- in Shanghai's tech ascendance...Shanghai's recent urban development, like China's itself, is nevertheless characterized by a sometimes astonishing lack of planning -- a problem hardly surprising for a land whose east-coast cities have done a century's worth of modernization in barely two decades...the municipal government is considering limits on new skyscrapers; tall buildings, it seems, have helped make the city sink an inch every year."

Thanks to David Gest

Wednesday, December 3, 2003 in Star Tribune

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

7 hours ago - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 14, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Front of Walmart store with sign.

Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network

The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.

May 7, 2025 - Inc.

Public Market sign over Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington with pop-up booths on street.

Seattle’s Pike Place Market Leans Into Pedestrian Infrastructure

After decades of debate, the market is testing a car ban in one of its busiest areas and adding walking links to the surrounding neighborhood.

6 hours ago - Cascade PBS

Yellow and silver light rain train in downtown Long Beach, California.

The World’s Longest Light Rail Line is in… Los Angeles?

In a city not known for its public transit, the 48.5-mile A Line is the longest of its kind on the planet.

May 15 - Secret Los Angeles

Man reaching for young girl sliding down playground slide.

Quantifying Social Infrastructure

New developments have clear rules for ensuring surrounding roads, water, and sewers can handle new users. Why not do the same for community amenities?

May 15 - Happy Cities