After two years of envisioning the future of key urban centers around the world, among which Mumbai (MaCT 2015-16) and Barcelona (MaCT 2016-17), the MaCT now turns to the Far East, exploring the great Chinese metropolis of Shanghai.

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Shanghai underwent rapid and far-reaching transformation of its social structure and urban and architectural conformation. Set against its historic backdrop, Shanghai’s modernity is the result of this cultural contamination between Western and Chinese cultures. Shanghai, is a city of paradoxes, an amalgam of Western practices and Chinese mindsets, testifying to an extraordinary story of rapid and unprecedented growth and development over more than a century of constant change.

Thanks to the expert knowledge and leadership of the MaCT collaborative entities Mobility in Chain, the Italian transport planning consultancy,  Urban Standards, the German interdisciplinary team of analysts, architects, mobility experts and urban planners, and 300.000km/s, a Barcelona based Data Analysis, Visualisation and Design studio, the MaCT is ready for the great Eastern adventure.

From the crucial role of the river as a primary resource and means of transport and communication, to the longest metro system in the world, the Maglev and a highly connected digital society, the focus will be to investigate the extremely rapid growth of the city’s mobility infrastructure, and to examine their practical implications in the urban and social context. By investigating the introduction of 21st century mobility paradigms the students will create a new vision for the future of this grand metropolis. The students will begin their investigation in mid February, and visit Shanghai to further enrich their research, in the beginning of April 2018.

Tackling these impending topics related to extreme densification, overpopulation and infrastructural obsolescence, makes for a challenging and creatively engaging context.

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