10 Ideas Shanghai Should Steal From Other Cities

For all the amazing things this city has to offer, there’s always room for improvement right? Here are 10 ideas Shanghai might do well to steal from other cities.

1.PARADES

Macy’s Parade

Say what you will about parades, they are a hell of a lot of fun… or at least they can be. Shanghai has had a few smaller ones but they should try to go big.

2.STREET ART

Mural by street artist Etam Cru

Okay okay sure, there’s Moganshan lu, if you can even count that. Then what?  Most people would be hard pressed to tell you where to find any other spray painted graffiti, building mural or street art around the city, let alone something epic.

3.LIVE MUSIC STREETS

Nashville Tennessee’s famous strip

If you’ve ever been to Nashville Tennessee, you know how awesome it is to have an entire strip of live music venues. You can bounce in and out at will, watching amateurs, pros and people looking to make a name for themselves. Shanghai has a few venues, but it’s sorely lacking for a place with this many people. Plus, they have streets for everything else: art supplies, books, power tools, instruments, why not add one more?

4.DERBY/HORSE RACE 

Dress to impress, go drink martinis until you can’t see straight and watch a bunch of horses run in a circle. In the abstract it sounds stupid, but in real life it’s amazing and Shanghai should at least consider opening a horse racing derby… although there’s that whole problem of gambling not being legal.

5.MOVIE THEATRE BARS

Studio Movie Grill in Houston Texas

Somewhat of global trend among hip cities lately has been the movie theatre/bar hybrid.  The concept is simple, a movie theatre that serves you booze. Yes there are some potential problems with this idea, like bar fights, noisy drunks interrupting the movie, and people sneeking in and out, but surprisingly the idea has worked very well.

6.GOURMET FOOD TRUCKS

Ok there are some food trucks, usually all bunched around shelter at 2 am. There’s even been a Vedett beer truck cruising around on weekends, but Shanghai doesn’t have anywhere near what it should in terms of gourmet food trucks and pop-ups along the street. Smells like  a business opportunity.

7. SALVATION ARMY

One of the best parts about western countries is the endless maze of used clothing, often found in thrift stores like salvation army and goodwill. And while it's great to go find some interesting stuff to add to the wardrobe, it's even better that places like this exist to help the underprivlidged get some much needed clothing.

8.CAR SHARE

Mobike may have cracked the glass ceiling for Shanghai’s sharing economy, but It will take a car sharing company to really do the trick. CarGo was successfully introduced in Chongqing this year, and you can bet they and other companies like them have been eying us.

9. FLASH MOBS

Impromptu pillow fights, naked subway rides, 100 person choreographed dance routines… where are the flash mobs? Ok yes there have been some smaller ones, but nothing regular or epic enough to merit a viral video or even a flurry of posts on weibo. Where are the flash mobs??

10.CENTRAL HEATING

Shanghai is in a hellish goldilocks zone. We aren’t far enough north to have our buildings equipped with good insulation and heating, but not far enough south to be warm during the winter. Here’s an idea Shanghai should really steal from any other normal city around the world: figure out how make buildings in a way that we don’t all have to wear our coats when we’re inside.

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