WHAT MAKES SHANGHAI CITY CHINA A GLOBAL CITY?

According to Steinbock (2010), the opening of the World Expo heralds

Shanghai’s coming of age, the rising economic might of China, and the financial power
of Asia’s legendary metropolis. But that’s only part of the story. The World Expo also
reflects the rise of Shanghai as a global city and the intensity of competition among
emerging Chinese mega-cities. At the eve of the World Expo, Shanghai was buzzing
with anticipation and excitement. Presented by 192 countries and 50 international
organizations, the World Expo will continue for six months. It will also be the largest
world exhibition ever and is expected to attract 70 million visitors from home and
abroad.
With a population of over 20 million people, Shanghai is a hugely popular tourist
destination renowned for its historical landmarks such as the Bund with its historical
buildings lining the Huangpu River. In turn, Shanghai’s increasing financial power and
China’s rapid economic development is reflected by the ultra-modern and ever-
expanding Pudong skyline, with the Oriental Pearl Tower, the Jin Mao, and the 492-
meter (1,614 ft) World Financial Center. For foreign sinologists, the World Expo heralds
not only the resurgence of the great metropolis, but the “comeback of the city’s brash
patrons.” In reality, Shanghai’s comeback started in the early 1990s, and today the
resurgence of the colossal city may still be in its infancy.
Just as New York City exemplified the strengths and aspirations of emerging
America in the 20th century, Shanghai, perhaps more than any old or emerging rival,
will personify the capabilities and dreams of rising Asia in the 21st century. Arumugam
(2022) discusses that Shanghai City is the number one smart city in the world. UK-
based analyst firm Juniper Research has ranked the world’s smart cities according to
their degree of smartness. The research took several factors into account, including
transportation and infrastructure, energy and lighting, city management, and urban
connectivity. Shanghai is the economic and financial hub of China. Juniper notes that
Shanghai is unique in Asia because its municipality offers more and more digitized
services to its residents. It is no wonder that China’s gateway to the world is also the
vanguard of smart city development.

APA CITATION: Steinbock, D. (2010). Shanghai: The Rise of the Global City.
NewGeography. Retrieved from https://www.newgeography.com/content/001558-
shanghai-the-rise-global-city
According to Steinbock (2010), The opening of the World Expo heralds Shanghai’s
coming of age, the rising economic might of China, and the financial power of Asia’s
legendary metropolis.
But that’s only part of the story. The World Expo also reflects the rise of Shanghai as a
global city and the intensity of competition among emerging Chinese mega-cities.
At the eve of the World Expo, Shanghai was buzzing with anticipation and excitement.
Presented by 192 countries and 50 international organizations, the World Expo will
continue for six months. It will also be the largest world exhibition ever and is expected
to attract 70 million visitors from home and abroad.
With a population of over 20 million people, Shanghai is a hugely popular tourist
destination renowned for its historical landmarks such as the Bund with its historical
buildings lining the Huangpu River. In turn, Shanghai’s increasing financial power and
China’s rapid economic development is reflected by the ultra-modern and ever-
expanding Pudong skyline, with the Oriental Pearl Tower, the Jin Mao, and the 492-
meter (1,614 ft) World Financial Center.
For foreign sinologists, the World Expo heralds not only the resurgence of the great
metropolis, but the “comeback of the city’s brash patrons.” In reality, Shanghai’s
comeback started in the early 1990s, and today the resurgence ovanguf the colossal
city may still be in its infancy. Just as New York City exemplified the strengths and
aspirations of emerging America in the 20th century, Shanghai, perhaps more than any
old or emerging rival, will personify the capabilities and dreams of rising Asia in the 21st
century.
______________________________________________________________________
Arumugam, N. (2022, October 2). What made Shanghai the world’s No. 1 smart
city? Cities Forum. https://www.citiesforum.org/news/what-made-shanghai-the-
worlds-no-1-smart-city/
Arumugam (2022) discusses that Shanghai City is the number one smart city in the
world. UK based analyst firm Juniper Research has ranked the world’s smart cities
according to their degree of smartness. The research took several factors into account,
including transportation and infrastructure, energy and lighting, city management, and
urban connectivity. Shanghai is the economic and financial hub of China. Juniper notes that
Shanghai is unique in Asia because its municipality offers more and more digitized services to
its residents. It is no wonder that China’s gateway to the world is also the vanguard of smart city
development.

Shanghai’s Smart Strategies

1. Shanghai Clone – Digital Twin of Shanghai has real-time data and helps in asset
management and future-proofing the city.
2. People-Oriented Smart City digital infrastructure project made it a “Dual
Gigabit” city – full 5G coverage in the downtown area and fiber coverage across
99 percent of the city was achieved.
3. Citizen Cloud App – This is the most commendable strategy. It turned out to be
the world-leading citizen data platform and as a one-stop-shop for the residents.
 The app uses technologies such as Cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and
big data.
 The city’s one-stop platform for government affairs includes 1,274 public services
covering birth and marriage, culture and education, tourism, social security,
transportation, medical treatment and health, plus legal services and senior
care.
 A total of 75,000 public service applications were handled via the platform every
day. Citizens can check a wide variety of day-to-day requests such as marriages,
tax bookings, real-time traffic conditions, traffic violations, weather forecasts,
hospital registrations, legal mediation applications, pension inquiries, and tourism
complaints.
 Information of residents is shared by 39 government authorities connected with
the platform and the government announced that currently, there are 14.5 million
users of the platform. The Citizen Cloud app is the preferred way to contact the
city about a myriad of issues, although there is a one number common call center
that removes the need for citizens to find out which service or department to
ring.
Smart technology lead to holistic development in Shanghai
Democracy and digital technology
It is widely accepted that a smart city and good democracy go hand in hand. The
Shanghai government is keen to democratize the data they hold and deliver
transparency to their citizens, making them more involved in decision-making and
empowering them to help themselves in their day-to-day lives. The stored data acts as
the intersection between the physical and the digital worlds, making it a cutting-edge
strategy.
Sustainable development
85% of the carbon emission is happening inside the city’s geography, so it is important
to reduce carbon emissions in the city.
In Shanghai, citizens can access government services through a single app easily from
home, such as registering their residency or transferring from one city to another. They
need not go to the city hall located downtown for paperwork. This lowers the burden on
traffic, reduces carbon emission, and saves energy and resources in a highly populated
city like Shanghai. Insights about electricity consumption, energy consumption,
pollution, etc., can be derived from big data analytics. This helps the government
analyze and implement specific measures to reduce emissions further. Thus it makes
digital transformation a key player in the energy transition.
Juniper Research reports that Smart cities, which focus more on smart grid initiatives,
can save over 1,000 TWh of electricity in 2026. This is equivalent to more than 5 years
of energy consumption by Greater London at present levels. Overall, smart cities
initiatives will lead to reductions of over 950 megatons of CO2-equivalent emissions
over the forecast period. Energy savings are expected to reach $96 billion in 2026,
making the deployment of smart city technology highly cost-effective.
Good Governance
As the world moves to increased digital integration, there are complex questions about
privacy and security that go together with the services which would alleviate major
issues and improve lives. These are tough questions that cities and countries around
the world will have to tackle to find their own preferred balance. But tech-powered
governance carried out through innovative management technologies (like in Shanghai)
can be a major enhancement to governance itself. By personalizing city management
and allowing it to cater directly to the people, greater synergy between a city’s residents
and its government can be found. And, it can benefit people and societies.
Future of cities
At present, over half of the world’s population lives in cities. The number of urban
dwellers will increase by two billion during the next twenty years due to approximately
three million people moving to the ‘cities’ every week. We are in a tough spot globally
because our cities are not well prepared for such drastic migration without harming our
resources. In order to address the deep and diverse needs of urban centers and their
population, smart technologies are a necessity. Our cities will thrive in the future by
building and upgrading infrastructure with technologies that address the biggest
challenges of the rapidly urbanizing world.
Though ‘smart cities’ as a concept started to stimulate the adoption of Internet usage by
citizens, the concept has shifted from a purely ‘digital’ activation to a more inclusive,
‘sustainable’ definition. Smart cities are built upon technology; however, they should not
be merely technology-centric. It is about livability, sustainability, the public good and
social inclusion. It is vital to define a smart city growth accordingly.