Abstract
As the stage of urban development shifts from high-speed expansion to a steady state of quality improvement, the perspective of planning will gradually shift from focusing on the grand narrative structure to focusing on realistic problem solving. For central urban areas that have experienced the full cycle of urban development, urban problems are particularly prominent, including environmental degradation, traffic congestion, and decline in housing standards. This series of problems are spatially localized and systemic, and it is urgent to rectify them through comprehensive means to alleviate the internal contradictions of urban development. By summarizing the development experience of global cities, such as the Cheonggyecheon River, Kallang River and other urban renewal projects, it is discovered that tapping the potential public space and performing ecological restoration is one of the important methods that can systematically solve the local problems in the central city. Based on the development bottleneck of Shanghai's central urban area and related planning, this article will focus on Zhaojiabang’s uncovering and resurfacing, and will conduct a preliminary discussion on spatial shaping, system integration, and cultural empowerment of potential public spaces. It is hoped that some exploration will be carried out on the renewal method and direction of the central city.
