Making Expo Park in Shanghai - The Spatial Reconfiguration and Entrepreneurial Governance in Shanghai’s Glurbanization Turn

Abstract

Mega-events, the large-scale and high-profile urban events with dramatic character, mass popular appeal and international significance for hosts' potential 'fast track' to urban development, are sophisticated and controversial for being as entrepreneurial endeavors in recent transitional China. It is observed that major cities are actively bidding for world-class events and creating flagship projects to help city promotion and spatial restructuring, such as Beijing Olympic Games, Guangzhou Asian Games and Shenzhen Universiade. While the existing literature concerns more on the economic performance of a mega-event, few studies have scrutinized it with diverse point of view and ignores it as a powerful tool for analysis of urban politics. As the 'Dragon Head' city in Yangtze River Delta, Shanghai's related incentive policies led the Expo 2010 play a significant role in post-industrial urban change, and also stated a distinct 'Shanghai Mode' urban regeneration that enables sustainable development. The purpose of this presentation is to explore how the Expo growth coalition exercises power on spatial restructuring and entrepreneurial landscape reshaping, how the pro-growth states operate as an entrepreneur in the Expo market, and how they exclusively manage the issues in Expo land development and relocation. Secondhand data are collected and a series of interviews are conducted, so as to thoroughly know about how the Expo project achieves the objectives of an ambitious city. Issues with respect to China's entrepreneurial arguments will also be examined and analyzed. The presentation will conclude by sharing some preliminary observations.