China - Shanghai

1. Political consequences of megacity growth

1.1. Thư government's goal is to increase average living space to 10 square meters per person by the year of 2000.

1.2. The longest suspension bridge in the world is the Yangpu Bridge over the Huangpu River, which costed approximately 200 million dollars. The first section of the subway system is completed (17km of track and 13 stations) in 1994, and cost 680 million dollars.

2. Environmental consequences of megacity growth

2.1. Vehicle and factory emissions accounted for 50 percent of Shanghai pollution, followed by dust from construction sites (10.5 percent), power stations (7.3 percent) and straw burning (10 percent)

2.2. Air quality in Shanghai is very poor. High levels of air pollution take a major obstacles on public health. A study by the Health Effects Institute found that unhealthy levels of PM2. 5 led to roughly 852,000 premature deaths in China in 2017. Household air pollution from burning solid fuels resulted in an additional 271,100 deaths that year.

3. Economic consequences of megacity growth

3.1. Constant and steady growth in buildings, highways, vehicles, economy and GDP, as well as the reduction of land.

3.2. Urbanization is attributed to rising air quality, the decline in relative moisture, wind speed, and hot days in Shanghai.

3.3. The rapid development development of the city began in the aftermath of the Opium War of 1840 when the Western powers forced China to open five of its coastal cities, including Shanghai, to foreign trade

4. Shanghai Facts - 10 Things You Should Know

4.1. https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/world-report/2014/06/17/migrant-labor-in-shanghai-highlights-inequality-in-china

4.2. China's radical plan to limit the populations of Beijing and Shanghai

4.3. Shanghai: The Rise of the Global City | Newgeography.com

4.4. Shanghai struggles with growth|China|chinadaily.com.cn

5. Useful background information on Shanghai

5.1. Shanghai is China's most-populous city, and the municipality is its most-populous urban area.

5.2. Shanghai is the world's largest city with the population of 24.28 million citizens.

5.3. Shanghai is a world finance and cultural center. Many different businesses are thriving in Shanghai and offering new opportunities to China's growing middle class and foreigners looking to broach the Chinese market.

6. Social consequences of megacity growth

6.1. "Shanghai will face persistent population pressure in the coming years due to rapid urbanization in the city, with experts predicting the city's population will rise to around 30 million by 2030 - nearly the population of Canada at present."

6.2. The gap between rich and poor in China has grown and it becomes the world's highest gap. This growing gap especially between wealthy urban and poor rural residents, is a factor of critical importance in China's economic development, a growing threat to social and political stability in China, and a major concern for the Chinese government

6.3. There will be increasing overcrowding, slums, traffic congestion, air pollution, waste disposal and other environmental problems that especially afflict most large cities.

7. Demographic consequences of megacity growth

7.1. A demographer has warned that, Shanghai will need a population of 35 million people by 2050 to ensure it has enough workers to support its increasingly greying society.

7.2. According to southchinamorningpost.com, Shanghai would also need to put more resources into education to ensure it remained competitive with other megacities in the developed world, said Zhou Haiwang, deputy director of population and development studies under the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

7.3. Shanghai would also need to develop and put more resources to education in their city in order to remain

7.4. Liang Zhongtang, a demographer with the academy, stated:"The city did not need to adjust its birth control policy because the population was being affected at the national level."