Shanghai Sprawl

This is an example of encroachment in the case study area. There is a lot of geography in this image! A good one for the whiteboard. First ask the kids what’s happening. Can they identify any remaining original landscape?

Not much left. So what was the original land-use in this area?

There is evidence of a second village which has now been flattened on the left hand side. The rest of the area must have been farmland. So what is going to happen next?

The extension of the road is easy but what about the village and the remaining farmland. You can ask the kids for reasons why the farmland should be kept and reasons why it should be removed. Two clues strongly suggest that this farmland is doomed. (the road junction and the reclaimed land at the top of the image.) So what happens next?

The infrastructure always comes first. Then comes the infill.

More residential land use along with some services – a school and some shops.

Finally the last area is filled with light engineering factories. Strips of remnant farm land are common in this landscape.