To accommodate the huge demand for dynamic economic activities and the fast increasing in inflow population, the expansion of the city is inevitable. In decades Shanghai has pursued the urban planning policy to transform from a super dense, mono-centric city to a multi-centric
metropolis to decentralize its population and economic activities.
The goal was to guide Shanghai’s expansion towards Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City structure while absorbing the development potential in those satellite towns, avoiding the trend of “pancake making”. From the planning history in Shanghai, before 1990 we can find that Shanghai pursued
the multi-center and multi-corridor spatial strategy for long time. But in fact during the fast development, the city became a bigger“Pancake”.
How to overcome city inconsistency and irregularity created with rapid growth of urban structure?
How to achieve balance?
Layer X is a concept of a “flying” city structure which allows to start from scratch. A new megacity which would overlay the old one. A new layer which supposed to erase limitations and disadvantages of existing megapolis. An inverted city mask which would complete city mosaic.
