Shanghai Urban Masterplan

Urban Vertical Agriculture

with Isaac Strackbein

An integrated solution

We propose a project that integrates several solutions to pressing problems of Shanghai, among which are pollution, traffic, replacement housing, decreasing agricultural land and runaway development, and lays the foundation for a sustainable city redevelopment. A master plan places core buildings in Shanghai’s typical Lilong social housing districts from the 1900's which are on the brink of demolition throughout the city, and connects them through channel systems that are accompanied with bicycle and pedestrians thoroughfares.

The plan gives new viability to the Lilong housing districts, and reinvigorates the city with local urban cores that encourage local trade, social interaction and high quality affordable living environments. The cores contain mixed use urban centers activated by a program of market places, cultural facilities, public gardens, retail, commercial, residential and large scale urban agriculture. Some Lilong districts are sacrificed to create new viable conditions for others and the diagram of these Lilongs are turned inside out.