Interpretation of the theme of China’s 2010 Shanghai World Expo

Theme: City, make life better!

English theme: Better City, Better Life.

Sub-theme

1. Integration of urban multiculturalism

2. Urban economy Prosperity

3. Innovation in urban science and technology

4. Reshaping of urban communities

5. Interaction between city and countryside Harmonious city is the theme of Shanghai World Expo Essence.

The 2010 Shanghai World Expo will use the concept of "harmonious city" to respond to the demand of "better city, better life".

The concept of "harmony" is embedded in ancient Chinese culture. Chinese culture values ??harmony among people, harmony between nature and man, and harmony between body and mind. "Book of Rites" puts forward when describing the "Great Harmony Society": "The journey of the great road means that the world is for the common good, selecting the talented and capable, advocating trust and cultivating harmony." Chinese pre-Qin scholars also envisioned a harmonious society in their writings. society. At the same time, "harmony" is also seen in the ideals of Western sages. The ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras systematically proposed the theory of harmony, which contains opposition and unity. Another philosopher of the same period, Heraclitus, further argued that "invisible harmony is better than visible harmony." In "The Republic" and "The Laws", Plato also began to seek a beautiful state in which "the entire society will develop in a very harmonious way, and all classes will obtain the happiness that nature has given them."

For hundreds of years, people have never stopped discussing the "harmonious city" model. From "Utopia" to the "ideal city" of the 18th century to the "Pastoral City", a series of theories, propositions and models are all exploring how to establish a balance in space, order, spiritual life and material accommodation in the city. and harmony. Since the 1980s, as environmental and development problems have become increasingly serious, the concept of sustainable development has emerged. Most of the development strategies proposed by urban governments in various countries focus on how to rebuild the harmony between people and cities, people and nature, and ultimately achieve harmony with the future. It can be seen that the pursuit and practice of "harmonious life" and "harmonious city" run through the development history of human society, and are increasingly reflected in the blueprint drawn by people for tomorrow's cities.

The establishment of a "harmonious city" is fundamentally based on the harmony between man and nature, man and man, spiritual and material, and is reflected in the form of harmonious multicultural existence and urban economic harmony. development, harmonious life in the technological era, harmonious operation of community cells, and harmonious interaction between city and countryside. The concept of "harmonious city" will pose new challenges to urban management and urban planning and bring them to a higher level. 1. Integration of multiculturalism in the city

From its inception, the city has been composed of all kinds of people. In the process of urban development, military, trade and migration further promoted the collision and integration of diverse cultures, and also formed the unique temperament of each city. On the one hand, this temperament is based on a city's cultural heritage and creative industries; on the other hand, it integrates the lifestyles and value orientations of various social groups and classes in the city.

People around the world are more concerned about cultural freedom and cultural identity than ever before. Urban culture under globalization is facing impacts from many directions. The massive flow of information and people has led to an unprecedented level of collision between strong and weak cultures, foreign cultures and local cultures, immigrant cultures and mainstream cultures in the city.

Multiculturalism means both historical and future harmony. More and more city managers realize that a cultural strategy that takes into account the past and the future, promotes the harmonious existence of multiculturalism, and the individuality in the integration, that is, a distinctive cultural identification, is the key to the city's sustainability. an important part of sustainable development.

2. Prosperity of urban economy

The earliest cities developed from markets. The driving force behind urban economic development is the agglomeration effect of cities. In the era of knowledge economy, innovation and entrepreneurship have increasingly become the core driving forces for the sustainable development of the urban economy. A city’s innovative capabilities are based on its research strength, but more so on the creative interactions between people. Although entrepreneurial ability is related to the city's wealth, it is actually more rooted in the cultural tradition of encouraging entrepreneurship. Whether a city has a high-quality working and living environment and the ability to attract first-class talents is directly related to a city's economic future. In addition, good infrastructure and complete service industries are also necessary conditions for urban economic prosperity.

Needless to say, there is a conflict between urban economic development and environmental resource protection. Establishing a circular economy model has become an important strategy to achieve sustainable urban development in cities. This economic development model advocates the 3R principles of reducing resource utilization in production (reduce), repeated use of products (reuse), and waste reuse (recycle), and ultimately achieves harmony between economic development and the environment.

3. Urban technological innovation

Cities are huge stages for human technological innovation. Within the city walls, various innovative elements converge and blend, and innovative ideas burst out due to intensive communication and interaction between people.

At the same time, the city’s R&D and production facilities allow sparks of innovation to be quickly transformed into technologies, which then become products and services that benefit mankind.

Since the 20th century, rapid advances in science and technology have made large-scale urbanization possible. At the same time, the enrichment and improvement of people's material life are concentrated in cities. Science and technology have greatly improved human daily life, and this material life has also left a deep imprint on human cultural and spiritual life.

4. Reshaping of urban communities

Community is the "cell" of the city and the usual living space form of urban people. Only healthy "cells" can create a healthy and harmonious city. Cultural integration and economic prosperity are all achieved with the community as the basic unit.

The construction and reshaping of urban communities has always been the most direct task facing city managers. How to make poor communities disappear from the city's social map was once the most vivid and persistent confusion in the history of urban development. In today's era, changes in the residential structure of cities in developed countries and unprecedented urban population growth in developing countries make this task even more onerous. In its Millennium Declaration, the United Nations Human Settlements Organization proposed the goal of building "cities without slums" and strives to significantly improve the lives of 100 million slum residents in the world's cities by 2020.

Under the goal of sustainable development, the reshaping of urban communities in the 21st century means the creation of "balanced communities", which should have the following characteristics: reasonable resident composition, reasonable home ownership structure, sound infrastructure, a pleasant living environment, ample employment and entrepreneurial opportunities, and deep social cohesion.

5. Interaction between cities and rural areas

Since the birth of cities, cities and rural areas have been interdependent economically, socially and environmentally. Rural residents make a living by selling products to cities, and cities thrive on the resources and needs of their rural hinterlands.

The expansion of cities has brought huge pressure on non-renewable resources. New ideas in urban planning, construction and the application of energy technology can alleviate this pressure to the greatest extent. At the same time, the influx of a large number of rural people has raised difficult issues for urban management. On the one hand, the construction and transformation of urban communities will give the urbanized population a good living environment; on the other hand, the construction of small cities and market towns can also effectively reduce the population and employment pressure on big cities. Under the impact of globalization, agricultural areas in some countries have lost their competitive advantages. Good urban-rural interaction can help farmers successfully switch operations and rebuild their livelihoods, or reshape the agricultural production structure and restore agricultural competitiveness. How to coordinate the flow of people, capital, goods and information between urban and rural areas is closely related to whether urban and rural areas can develop harmoniously and simultaneously.

Nearly half of the world's population lives in rural areas. The differences between urban and rural areas in developing countries have prompted relevant international organizations to call for full use of the complementary effects and interconnections between rural and urban areas to eliminate urban poverty while trying to eliminate poverty. , striving to eliminate rural poverty and improve rural living conditions.