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l(f)rg:2020-03-26 Դ: ɢľx c
ON THE WATERFRONT: A peaceful river runs past Pujiang Expo Garden in Shanghai, the new home of people relocated from a downtown stretch of the river
Residents along Shanghai"s Huangpujiang River are being moved out and their homes torn down. The area has been designated as a site of venues for the 2010 World Expo.
But organizers of the upcoming event in Shanghai, Chinas booming, crowded financial and commercial center, arent just moving the people into a nearby neighborhood. To make room for the lucrative World Expo, theyve worked out a large-scale resettlement project that involves moving residents from their homes along the river to an area on the outskirts of the municipality.
New concept of urban life
Pujiang Expo Garden is the name of the large-scale housing complex being built for residents relocated from Shanghais Huangpu and Luwan districts as partial compensation for their homes.
The residential quarter is located in Pujiang Town in Shanghais Minhang District, about a half-hour drive from the city proper, and covers an area of 1.5 square km. To the east is a hi-tech development zone, to the south a large green belt, to the north a commercial area and to the west flows the Huangpujiang.
The reason why this area has been selected as the spot for the residential units housing relocated residents is that among the nine new satellite towns of Shanghai, this is the nearest one to the downtown, said a local official.
Project planners said that in order to stay in line with the theme of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, better city, better life, Pujiang Expo Garden has been designed as a new concept of urban life. They boast that it provides residents with not only regular services and facilities, but also something absent in many Chinese cities--a green environment, with streams and wooded areas.
A forested area in the east of the housing complex is 1,500 meters long and 100 meters wide. Major streets in the area are lined with grass and plants.
And the Pujiang residential quarter wont just be green in appearance. According to Xing Tonghe, Chief Architect of Pujiang World Expo, energy conservation technologies have been applied in building the houses, such as outer wall heat preservation materials that could help save 50 percent of daily energy use.
Away from downtown
PLANNED COMMUNITY: A high rise stands among five-story apartment buildings, making the housing development look more modern
By the end of 2005, the first 1,600 apartment units had been completed, and in March 2006, another 4,660 were finished, to be followed by 3,400 new units in August.
Pujiang Expo Garden is to have 15 apartment blocks. While these will mostly be comprised of five-story buildings, there will be several groups of 11-story structures. The apartments will range from 50-52, 72-78 and 91-100 square meters in size.
The apartments arent free, but officials pledged that the relocated families arent being charged high prices.
Housing prices in Shanghai are known as the highest in the country, but these residents only have to pay half or even one third of the price for every square meter of room they buy in the residential quarter, thanks to preferential policies, Zhang, who is one of those in charge of the Pujiang Expo Garden program, told Beijing Review.
At the same time, they are also compensated with cash, which is offered according to the size of their old houses, he added.
However, the residents who are being relocated arent as enthused as the planners, in particular when it comes to location.
Much further away from downtown than their old homes, and with supporting facilities not yet in place, they face transportation difficulties, in particular when it comes to getting to work. Although planners say that regular shuttle buses are available for the residents of the residential quarter, some people still find transportation a big problem.
Officials announced at a press conference in May hosted by the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination that to remedy the transportation difficulties, the Shanghai Municipal Government had decided to extend the metro line M8 to Pujiang Expo Garden. This line will connect the downtown, the new residential compound with the residents original neighborhoods. By 2008, when Line M8 is finished, a trip downtown will only take 15 minutes, according to planners.
Creating a new community
The old communities in Shanghais downtown, characterized by interlacing lanes and guojielou (a kind of traditional cross-street building), make it easy for neighbors to see each other every day.
In order for the residents to carry on with the way of life they are used to, in some of the buildings the ground floor is empty, supported by a few stilts, Zhang explained. Such a design is intended to offer the residents more places to have a rest when taking a walk and to have opportunities to get to know their new neighbors. In this way, the neighborhood relationship is expected to go as well as it did in the old communities.
Public facilities such as roads, supermarkets, convenience stores, post offices, banks and hospitals have been completed. Small parks and entertainment centers are also planned, though not yet constructed.
In order not to affect the education of the children, two kindergartens, one primary school, one junior high school and one senior high school have already been set up, Zhang added.
While young people are provided with activity centers, senior citizens can reside in a special home for the elderly, project planners said. In addition, local residents will have easy access to health care within Pujiang Expo Garden walls when it is completed, according to planners.
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