Abstract
The Cosmopolitan Ambition of Chinese Urbanization: A Case Study of "One City, Nine Towns"
At the beginning of the 21st century, the Chinese government announced an ambitious urbanization plan to build 20 new cities annually over the next 20 years.
From 2000 to 2020, approximately 400 “new cities” were planned and constructed (Fang and Yu, 2016; Shepard, 2015). The goal was to create a system of new cities to serve as a multifunctional “planned backbone” for the market economy. This approach aimed to leverage regional hubs to reconfigure urban systems on a large spatial scale.
The intent was to transform the relationship between central cities and their peripheries: no longer dispersed industrial satellite towns surrounded by rural areas, but integrated suburban cities within a unified, globalized metropolis (Wu, 2016: 1139).
In this context, we observe what He and Qian (2017) describe as a “new relationship between the exceptional and the ordinary” and the need to adopt a “revised cosmopolitan approach.”
An Emblematic Case: “One City, Nine Towns”
In 2001, at the dawn of this “cosmopolitan phase blending the ordinary and extraordinary,” Shanghai’s municipal government launched the One City, Nine Towns project. This ambitious plan proposed nine new towns, each themed after a distinct national culture: Chinese, English, Scandinavian, Spanish, Canadian, Dutch, German, and Italian.
From a Western perspective, the project might appear inspired by a form of “exoticism.” However, in China, it was seen as a pioneering example of cultural inclusivity and fusion between East and West.
The Italian Town of Pujiang
Among these, the Pujiang New Town—designed for 100,000 residents and located south of Shanghai along the Huangpu River—was entrusted to architect Vittorio Gregotti. The town became a notable example of an “Italian urban project” on Chinese soil, widely regarded as the most successful of the nine.
Though its residential components were completed, public and service-oriented infrastructure saw only partial realization. Notably, the central east-west spine, envisioned by Gregotti as the qualitative heart and strategic axis of the town, was largely unbuilt.
Parallels with the Bicocca Project
During the same period, Gregotti’s firm was engaged in Italy’s Bicocca Project, initiated after an international competition in 1988. This mixed-use development combined urban redevelopment with new construction, featuring numerous buildings designed by Gregotti, with the exception of the Deutsche Bank headquarters (1997–2005), designed by Gino Valle.
Contemporary Reflections
More than two decades after these dual experiments, shifting global economic landscapes and development priorities necessitate a rethinking of urban strategies. Today’s challenges unfold against transformed economic conditions and the delicate balance between modernization and cultural tradition.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the Chinese government announced an ambitious urbanization plan to build 20 new cities annually over the next 20 years.
From 2000 to 2020, approximately 400 “new cities” were planned and constructed (Fang and Yu, 2016; Shepard, 2015). The goal was to create a system of new cities to serve as a multifunctional “planned backbone” for the market economy. This approach aimed to leverage regional hubs to reconfigure urban systems on a large spatial scale.
The intent was to transform the relationship between central cities and their peripheries: no longer dispersed industrial satellite towns surrounded by rural areas, but integrated suburban cities within a unified, globalized metropolis (Wu, 2016: 1139).
In this context, we observe what He and Qian (2017) describe as a “new relationship between the exceptional and the ordinary” and the need to adopt a “revised cosmopolitan approach.”
An Emblematic Case: “One City, Nine Towns”
In 2001, at the dawn of this “cosmopolitan phase blending the ordinary and extraordinary,” Shanghai’s municipal government launched the One City, Nine Towns project. This ambitious plan proposed nine new towns, each themed after a distinct national culture: Chinese, English, Scandinavian, Spanish, Canadian, Dutch, German, and Italian.
From a Western perspective, the project might appear inspired by a form of “exoticism.” However, in China, it was seen as a pioneering example of cultural inclusivity and fusion between East and West.
The Italian Town of Pujiang
Among these, the Pujiang New Town—designed for 100,000 residents and located south of Shanghai along the Huangpu River—was entrusted to architect Vittorio Gregotti. The town became a notable example of an “Italian urban project” on Chinese soil, widely regarded as the most successful of the nine.
Though its residential components were completed, public and service-oriented infrastructure saw only partial realization. Notably, the central east-west spine, envisioned by Gregotti as the qualitative heart and strategic axis of the town, was largely unbuilt.
Parallels with the Bicocca Project
During the same period, Gregotti’s firm was engaged in Italy’s Bicocca Project, initiated after an international competition in 1988. This mixed-use development combined urban redevelopment with new construction, featuring numerous buildings designed by Gregotti, with the exception of the Deutsche Bank headquarters (1997–2005), designed by Gino Valle.
Contemporary Reflections
More than two decades after these dual experiments, shifting global economic landscapes and development priorities necessitate a rethinking of urban strategies. Today’s challenges unfold against transformed economic conditions and the delicate balance between modernization and cultural tradition.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 120 |
| Publication status | Accepted/In press - Sept 2025 |
