Learning from Milan : urban regulation for Shanghai old city

Milan and Shanghai both have an experience of reconstruction of their historic center. For Milan, the experience is the recovery from the war, while for Shanghai is the urban renewal following the Reform and Opening up of China. Their reconstruction experiences share many similarities. For example, historic centers of the two cities both have typical historic urban characteristics of their historic urban texture, street framework, block composition mode and pedestrian space. Besides, reconstructions of both cities made their way through encouraging the speculation. But due to the difference between plans and regulations of Milan and Shanghai, their results of reconstruction are quite different . Through effective reconstruction plan and regulation, integrity of construction interface, pedestrian space and urban texture has been well preserved in Milan historic city center. While in Shanghai, because of our ignorance of valuable historic urban space, the regulation for historic area was unsound and backward. In this way, Shanghai Old City has been totally changed. With historic urban fabric destroyed, pedestrian space replaced by large scale streets, value of the historic area was damaged. Base on above, in this thesis we would like to compare the situation in two cities. Learning the plan and regulation system in Milan after WWII to find out how the planning and related building regulations limit the construction activities during Milan’s reconstruction period. Furthermore, the PGT in force nowadays has also been studied in the thesis to learn how to maintain the historic city center at this point. Dozens of cases have been analyzed and compared, to show how different regulations affect constructions in historic centers of Milan and Shanghai. The purpose of the study is to figure out what the Old City in Shanghai can learn from Milan’s experience to complete its own historic districts conservation plan and regulation.