The collision of the old and the new is the most eye-catching. OpenAI, a disruptive innovative technology company that threw out ChatGPT and Sora, two blockbuster "bombs" one after another, was not born in Silicon Valley in the United States, but from the oldest community in San Francisco. It is said that Neuralink, a brain-computer interface company founded by Musk, was once here.
Sure, Silicon Valley is still home to some of the world's top high-tech companies, but it's hard to ignore the new trend – globally, high-tech companies are returning to urban centers.
This time, Shanghai is on the same page as the world's leading cities. On the banks of the Huangpu River, the functions have been replaced in the process of renewal, becoming a new innovative ecological belt running through the urban area. In the heart of the city, the science and technology innovation park is dotted with stars, interspersed with neighborhoods that are densely covered with sycamores.
Planning experts believe that "the construction of innovation districts is a new way for metropolises to activate scientific and technological innovation in the stock era." "Shanghai, which has announced that it has fully entered the stage of stock development, how can it better undertake the general trend of the return of science and technology through urban renewal and spatial resource allocation?
There are many opportunities and challenges.
The return of technology and the revival of urban areas are a win-win situation
Why does the city have such a strong charm?" is the dynamism, the very vigorous force that the young people here love. Huang Yilun, vice president of the Pudong Leading District Branch of the Shanghai Institute of Urban Planning and Design, said.
Tech companies don't all love the modern sci-fi community. The San Francisco Church District, where OpenAI is headquartered, "showed up". It's a traditional and diverse neighborhood with a thriving street culture, hippie culture, and an art scene. There's a mural building, a music market, the nation's number one food street, more famous than tech companies, a pop-up street, outdoor beer halls and cafes, an art park, and a large lawn for events...... Diverse, artistic, fun, and convenient, the San Francisco Mission District attracts innovative and entrepreneurial talents, startups and technology companies, incubators and venture capital institutions, and has become a popular area for emerging technology companies in the United States to set up offices.
To support the return of technology, San Francisco has proposed to create a "future AI urban innovation district", released the "Mission District Action Plan 2020" and the "Downtown San Francisco Revitalization Roadmap" to strengthen the advantages of the urban area, encourage flexible and complex land use schemes, increase commercial space and community services on the ground floor, provide mixed-income housing and office space, and shape pedestrian streets and public spaces.
This trend is better understood in the context of life – people can see exhibitions near the company, cultural and artistic displays can be seen everywhere outdoors, they can drink coffee and participate in events downstairs, and people of all incomes can find suitable accommodation...... Industry insiders told reporters that nowadays, the demand for quality of life is getting higher and higher, and it is far from enough to focus only on the industry itself. San Francisco's commitment to placemaking, multi-functional, and culturally inclusive is all about people.
With the help of spatial shaping, the urban area can be revitalized and a win-win situation can be achieved. In the seventies and eighties of the last century, many large cities abroad saw the phenomenon of urban hollowing, such as Seattle in the United States at that time, the urban population almost stopped growing, or even shrunk. Since then, the Seattle South Lake Union District has given full play to the advantages of the lake area, transformed the warehousing agglomeration belt, integrated sports, culture, and commercial functions, and gradually became a well-known science and technology innovation zone in the United States, and Amazon's global headquarters has also moved here. According to the 2020 census, Seattle's urban population has grown by more than 20% in a decade, which is closely related to the recovery of the South Lakes Union.
The elements of science and technology innovation flow rapidly in the downtown area
What kind of environment makes for an innovative company, and are there any rules that can be followed?
Huang Yilun believes that innovation is difficult to plan artificially, but it can be stimulated by creating innovation zones. From the Seattle Southlake Union in the United States, Kendall Square in Cambridge, to the King's Cross district in London, England, and then to the Tokyo-Yokohama Intelligent Manufacturing Industrial Zone in Japan...... Cities around the world are speeding up their layout, building urban innovation districts, and further enhancing the attractiveness and competitiveness of science and technology.
After researching the innovation zones of the world's leading cities, as well as a number of new economy companies such as Bilibili and Meituan, the team led by Huang Yilun found that the innovation zones that meet the preferences of young people have three characteristics - a tropical rainforest-style innovation ecosystem. In this system, there are not only leading institutions that can export knowledge and resources, but also diverse and dynamic communities, as well as parks, cultural and sports, commercial and transportation facilities.
A more inclusive space carrier. The purpose of constructing such a space carrier is to create more public environments that encourage people to get out of the office and fully communicate.
An environment that inspires innovation. This atmosphere makes it possible to "work while playing", "pet-friendly", and "sports and socializing". "The Innovation Zone, which young people love, is borderless and undefined. Planning experts believe.
With the help of urban renewal, the momentum of scientific and technological innovation in Shanghai's urban area is surging.
The planned innovative ideal community is taking shape on the banks of the Huangpu River. The Xuhui-Qiantan area has attracted many manufacturing and technology companies to settle in, which is closely related to its highly inclusive regional planning. The rent of office buildings in the region ranges from 5 yuan to 12.3 yuan per square meter, and the rent of housing ranges from several thousand yuan to tens of thousands of yuan per month, covering all kinds of talent needs. In Yangpu Binjiang, the elements of science and technology innovation are also growing. In addition to technology companies such as Bilibili, Meituan, and Douyin, more leading institutions are being approached in the domain. In the hinterland along the river, cultural communities with Shanghainese characteristics are taking shape. After the renovation of the overall appearance of the 228 neighborhood of Changbai Xincun Street, affordable rental housing was introduced, integrating fitness, catering, and communication activity areas, and the occupancy rate reached 96%, and many tenants were employees from Bilibili and Meituan.
With its driverless truck in "The Wandering Earth 2", Xijing Technology is one of the few artificial intelligence companies in China with full-stack development capabilities. This rising star of science and technology is neither in a tall office building nor in a remote industrial park, but hidden in the "Shanghai Silicon Alley" in Changning.
The 1.48-square-kilometer "Shanghai Silicon Alley" has no walls, covering Yuyuan Road, Wuyi Road, Shangsheng Xinsuo and other Internet celebrity spots, and residential areas, parks, and shops are dotted around. In recent years, Changning has also formed a building space supply of nearly 800,000 square meters through plant renovation and other means. "We have an interesting office space, upstairs is the R&D center, downstairs there are Pilates classes, and there is a café around the corner. Sun Chi, vice president and head of global development of Westwell Technology, said that the vast majority of Westwell employees are young high-talent students from prestigious schools, pursuing quality life, and the urban area is the first choice for office.
In addition to the research institutes and universities under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, there are 543 science and technology companies located in it, many of which are upstream and downstream companies of Xijing Technology. If you don't pay special attention, it is difficult to find that in such a busy city, the elements of scientific and technological innovation are also flowing rapidly......
People-oriented planning cultivates more innovation zones
Xijing Technology is not far from the Jiangsu Road subway station, and many employees still maintain a daily "commute from Jiangsu to Jiangsu Road". This internal joke reveals the helplessness of enterprises - for many young people, the high cost of living in urban areas is still a burden.
Research shows that spaces that drive technological innovation are often highly inclusive and cost-effective. Through planning, creating an urban space that meets the needs of young people and lifts the trend of science and technology returning to the city is a new way to cultivate innovation momentum.
Experts believe that, on the one hand, urban governance should meet the housing and living needs of young people through precise services. Urban renewal planners should consider how to allocate more night runways, market areas, light shows, and bar blocks in the urban area to create more nightlife atmosphere for young people? How to create more transparent space in the renovation of factories to promote people's desire to communicate? On the other hand, urban renewal is an opportunity for the industrial rejuvenation of the urban area. Shanghai's new round of renovation of old districts has accelerated the replacement of urban functions and the improvement of energy levels while ensuring people's livelihood. From the perspective of the whole city, can we benchmark against world-class cities, so that more areas can strengthen the cultivation of innovation zones, so as to stimulate stronger gravity and create greater value?
Of course, cultivating innovation districts in the heart of the city is not about weakening new towns and suburbs, just as Silicon Valley and church districts are not in a "zero-sum" relationship. The construction plan of Zhangjiang Science City, issued in 2017, put forward the concept of "city" in Zhangjiang for the first time, which is precisely in response to the strong demand of talents for the integration of industry and city. The five new cities that Shanghai is building are also taking "industry-city integration" and "blue-green system" as important planning themes.
Compared with the central urban area, the industrial area in the suburbs still has room for improvement in the shaping of diverse communities and cultural exploration. A few days ago, Qingpu District took the lead in launching an exploration and will pilot the rural landscape unit of Cen Village in Jinzexi around Huawei's Qingpu R&D Center, and build an ideal village of the world's water towns through "blue-green surrounding+ golden foundation + technology empowerment", gathering people in the science and technology industry.
(Source: Jiefang Daily)