Before 1990 Pudong was one of the poorest districts in Shanghai, full of squalid slums and industrial plants belching polluted air. Just 20 years ago it was declared a Special Economic Zone and became one of the largest building sites in the world–at one point reputed to have been home to one-third of the world’s largest cranes. Now it is a forrest of skyscrapers with freeways, boulevards and parks at ground level.
Shanghai has over 4000 high rise buildings exceeding 20 stories making it one of the densest cities in the world. It has a remarkable subway and fast train system that has come all-at-once along with the building boom. The results in terms of urban are both frightening and fascinating.