The Shanghai Municipal People's Congress will modify the city's urban-planning regulations within the next month to limit the number of tall buildings,said a member of the congress standing committee.

Guan Zhuangmin,who is also chairman of the congress'Urban Construction and Environmental Protection Committee,said:"The excessive development of tall buildings in downtown Shanghai worsens the city's image and goes against its long-term goal of becoming a pleasant place in which to both live and work.''

Tall buildings have been mushrooming as a result of the renovation of old urban areas,particularly in the last five years.

By the end of last year,there were 4,916tall buildings (of eight floors or more)in the city,according to the Shanghai Municipal Housing,Land and Resources Bureau.Of those,around 2,800had more than 18floors.

By the end of June this year,another 2,000buildings with more than 18floors were either under construction or in the planning stage.

The congestion of tall buildings in the limited central area has had a negative effect in the city,according to the Shanghai Municipal Urban Planning Bureau.

Guan said an important task for the municipality for the rest of this year is to control the number of tall buildings.

Many historical buildings in old urban areas have been demolished to make room for modern tall buildings.

The concentration of tall buildings blocks the wind and the view and has been shown to depress people.

"The case of Amoy Gardens in Hong Kong during the SARS outbreak has warned us how vulnerable a place with a dense population is when faced with an epidemic disease,''Guan said.

In addition to weakening the city's capacity to fight fires,typhoons and the heat,the excessive construction of tall buildings has also been identified as having contributed 30per cent to the city's subsidence since 1990.

The Lujiazui financial area along the Huangpu River in the district of Pudong,which has a high concentration of skyscrapers,is sinking by between 12and 15millimetres a year and the trend does not seem to be slowing.

Close

Today's Top News		Top Business News
+The next great leap after Shenzhou V ( 2003-10-21) +Hu calls for balanced development ( 2003-10-21) +Report: SARS not airborne virus ( 2003-10-21) +Japan urged to resolve weapons issue ( 2003-10-21) +Int'l AIDS group opens Beijing office ( 2003-10-21)		+Home-appliance giants want wheels ( 2003-10-21) +Exchange-rate reform under study ( 2003-10-21) +Health insurance sector called for ( 2003-10-21) +SanDisk teams up to open outlets ( 2003-10-21) +Housing prices start to sag in Shanghai ( 2003-10-21)