Walking dogs, opening flower shops, exploring non heritage markets... These pocket parks in Shanghai are not just about "park" life | city | pocket

Urban parks are products of the industrial era, providing an effective solution to urban problems caused by industrial production, especially meeting the urgent need of ordinary urban residents to temporarily escape from harsh living environments.

It has been over 170 years since the opening of the world's first truly urban park. Although the urban environment has been greatly optimized, getting close to nature, temporarily avoiding the hustle and bustle of the city, relieving fatigue, and releasing pressure have always been the core function of urban parks since their inception.

However, for pocket parks that cater to every opportunity, providing core functions is not enough. The oases in these urban deserts are highly anticipated by those living and working in their surroundings due to their higher accessibility.

In Shanghai, the constantly emerging pocket parks are no longer like traditional parks, but more like a public space with multiple functions superimposed.

The specific functions provided by each pocket park vary, but the principle of people-oriented and the original intention of lighting up people's lives with high-quality space remain unchanged.

In Minhang District Annual Rings Park, which opened this year, the original hillside is not convenient for the elderly to move. After the renovation, the terrain is gentle and open. The picture is people-oriented.

In August last year, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development announced data that in accordance with the goal of "seeing green within 300 meters and seeing parks within 500 meters" for residents' travel, China has built and renovated nearly 30000 pocket parks, and each province strives to build no less than 40 pocket parks by 2022.

In Shanghai, 160 pocket parks were newly built and renovated in 2021 and 2022, and the actual project of "constructing and renovating 60 pocket parks" in 2022 was actually exceeded.

These newly added pocket parks all have the functions of traditional parks, but looking back at the early history of exploring pocket parks in European and American countries, it can be found that "just parks are not enough".

In the 1960s, the world's first pocket park was born in New York, USA and rapidly developed. In the 1970s, the construction boom of pocket parks in the United States began to change. The local government filled in some undeveloped vacant land in the city to reflect their achievements and built pocket parks. The city seemed clean and beautiful, but these lush parks were either located in remote areas or lacked functions such as rest and socializing, ultimately attracting little attention.

Two American authors mentioned the failure of St. Louis in their book "Human Places - Urban Open Space Design Guidelines", where a $15000 pocket park was converted into a parking lot for the same amount of money. "Not to meet the daily needs of adults and children" is considered the crux.

After the completion of the Pere Park, many countries in Europe and the United States have risen to build a pocket park.

Pocket Park in Kikuchi City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, stands out for its avant-garde and trendy design

Yorkville Village Park, located in Canada, has a rectangular public space of over 4000 square meters that "condenses" various representative Canadian rural landscapes and plants, and is considered a representative of the Healing Pocket Park

"The first yardstick of urban construction is people. Only by letting the people 'order food' first can we win their 'likes'. According to Liu Yuelai, associate professor at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at Tongji University, Pocket Parks should be open to the public, and the government, community, planners, and residents should work together to make it an important' catalyst 'for urban micro renewal and the improvement of residents' quality of life.".

At the intersection of Dongxiu Road and Jinhe Road, there is an 8000 square meter Dongjin Garden. The design plan for this "urban park at the corner" has been revised three times, with a focus on pet friendly functions.

"At first, I didn't plan to let pets enter the park, but during the on-site inspection, the scene of dozens of residents squeezing their pets under the dense forest for socializing was too impactful." Yang Qiankun, the head of the Greening Department of the Pudong New Area Greening Management Affairs Center, introduced that Dongjin Park used to be a public green space with high canopy density, but in the early design, only a small square and a few small roads were left, and the surrounding communities were dense, with limited public space. As a result, I often saw scenes of children, elderly people, and pets crowded together, and comfort and safety were issues.

After its opening last summer, Dongjin Garden brought great joy to the residents of Shanghai Greentown.

Watching his beloved dog skillfully walk over a single wooden bridge, resident Lao Zhang said that this may be the first pocket park in Shanghai to have a pet park. There is a dedicated lawn and interactive facilities at the "doorstep", which solves many of the troubles of walking dogs in the community. "This park is very thoughtful, separating the children's area, landscape area, and pet area. This way, people pursuing different functions are naturally separated, and conflicts between pets, the elderly, and children are greatly reduced."

Photo by Chen Xi Han, East Jinyuan

At the intersection of Madang Road and Fuxing Middle Road, there is a white pointed cottage in the Dream Chasing Garden. This is the Huangpu Citizen Horticultural Center, which is responsible for operation and maintenance by Shanghai Seed Industry. Residents and white-collar workers who come to visit the Pocket Park often cannot help but buy a few planting balls or fresh cut flowers. The unit price of most products is not more than 10 yuan, which is very tempting. Customers who are still unsatisfied can also bring home gardening materials such as planting substrates, fertilizers, and flower pots.

More and more flower and bird markets are moving away or closing, and in the central urban areas where every inch of land is precious, people have fewer opportunities to get close to the "birds chirping and the fragrance of flowers". The Dream Chasing Garden captures this desire, and those who are intoxicated by the miniature paradise can bring back a sense of greenery, extending the subtle beauty into their lives and work spaces.

Recently, when I saw recommendations from social media platforms, Ms. Chen, who lives in Laoximen, came over and said, "The flower shops in the city center are generally expensive. I used to take a bus to the flower and bird market in Jiading to purchase, and it takes at least 4 hours to go back and forth. Now it's just a quarter of an hour by subway, and it's also cheap and affordable."

Dream Garden Pictures Create Beauty

Pocket parks are the protagonists of urban life, and for many residents, they are the most frequently used part of urban open spaces.

Putting people first is an essential aspect of public space planning and construction. Based on this, Shanghai hopes to emphasize the greater significance of public space to the city, which is to inspire people to shape, participate, and share space with high-quality space.

Just last month, a "green caravan" drove into Lehui Small Amusement Park, where the elderly listened to classes and learned how to appreciate and care for orchids; Middle aged and young people shopping, lingering among various seasonal flowers; Children take nature notes and use colored pencils to depict the flowers, stems, and leaves of the Eight Immortals.

Natural Notes Painted by Children Xuhui District Greening City Apptenance Bureau

It is interesting that most of these citizens encountered the event in Pocket Park instead of registering and making appointments beforehand.

Zhu Qianying, a child from Rihui Sixth Village, said a simple reason: "Everyone knows that there are often activities there, and even if there are no activities, you can play for a long time."

"A well-designed pocket park can accurately attract the target audience, inspire them to fully enjoy this space, and even develop new functions with us, actively creating a better city and life," said Zhou Jia, Deputy General Manager of Shanghai Landscape and Greening Construction Co., Ltd

To achieve precise drainage, one must first be seen by others. Lehui Small Amusement Park is located in a triangular plot surrounded by Caoxi Road, Sanhui Road, and Zhongshan West Road. Approximately 8000 square meters of space used to be hidden in protective forests, and many residents who have lived nearby for many years are unaware of it.

After the renovation, the ground in this area is level with the outermost sidewalk, and the wall is opened to remove obstacles that affect traffic and visibility. The overall space is also made more transparent by thinning and optimizing plant species.

In addition, facilities such as elevated bridge pillars, rainbow bridges, and colorful caterpillar slides boldly use bright colors to decorate the gray space, which is eye-catching for pedestrians coming from Huating Hotel to the north, Xujiahui Sports Park, and IKEA Mall to the south.

Further identify tourists by segmenting areas and functions. From a high altitude perspective, Lehui Small Amusement Park is divided into an orange dominated children's area, a blue dominated youth area, a dry stream landscape area for tourists of all ages, and a public service station composed of two layers of colored containers.

In the youth area, on two circular basketball courts, the height of the basketball hoop is lowered to 1.5 to 1.8 meters, and there is a spectator stand next to it where parents can rest and cheer. The relay station is equipped with facilities such as mother and baby rooms, accessible bathrooms, and has gradually embedded functions such as food sales, item storage, and community services. Various targeted designs guide people towards areas that suit them.

Overlooking Lehui Small Garden Picture

Slides customized for young children and post stations with multiple functions. Photo by Zhou Jia

At night, in the zebra green space at the intersection of Beizhai Road and Hami Road, the light from the leaf shaped flower bed combined with water mist, presenting the image of a "zebra". The cheers after the goal can be heard from the neighboring Locke Park from time to time. During the day, there are also Mulan gold and silver fans and small pear garden opera performances here.

Unlike many pocket parks, zebra green spaces leave a lot of "white space" outside the ecological space, with only four "living rooms" set up in open areas: a pink ice rink surrounded by "8-shaped" low walls, a red art installation "floating corridor pavilion", a wooden structure art display space "fused" using 3D printing technology, and a container house post station painted with cartoon patterns of animals such as zebras, flamingos, and cheetahs.

These "living rooms" and nearby spaces can be static and dynamic. In the first half of this year alone, more than a dozen activities were held, such as Frisbee teaching, Suheyuan Intangible Cultural Heritage theme fair, sisters games, and the "Song of Home" people's stage. In the second half of this year, more than a dozen activities, such as public welfare partners entering the community, coffee sharing study flash, have occupied the "layout table" of zebra green space. The quota for folk activities such as rubbings, sachet making, pot throwing, and pounding pills, which are deeply loved by white-collar workers, was quickly sold out.

"In the context of Shanghai's urban renewal, Pocket Park can become a lever to drive the vitality and development of the entire neighborhood." Wang Yefei, Deputy Director of the Greening and Urban Appearance Bureau of Changning District, said that the zebra green space complements the space under the Central Bridge, which mainly attracts sports and exercise enthusiasts. It is a social space specially designed for young people in Beixinjing Street, allowing them to stay and enjoy life.

Zebra Greenbelt Changning District Greening City Apptenance Bureau