Danish schmidt hammer lassen architects together with local architects East China Architecture and Design Institute, and Shanghai Expo Construction Development Company last week celebrated the ground breaking for, and start of construction of, the new Green Valley project on the site of the former 2010 Shanghai Expo. — bustler.net

There is only so far the gap between the migrant workers and the local Shanghainese they serve can grow before the foundations of the city buckle — and only so many well-educated, English-speaking, computer-literate, world-traveling young people the city can welcome before they demand change. Modernity is about more than fast trains and tall buildings. Despite the authorities’ strict controls, some among Shanghai’s millions have surely figured this out. — Places Journal

The entry "Urban Canyon" by the design consortium of Synthesis Design + Architecture and Shenzhen General Architectural Design Institute has recently been awarded first place in the invited international design competition for the enormous mixed-used development, Shanghai Wuzhou International Plaza. — bustler.net

Copenhagen firm PinkCloud.dk has shared with us the concept FLIP/CITY, a recent shortlist entry in the 2012 Rethinking Shanghai competition. Design team members Nico Schlapps and Fabian Busse decided to literally flip a flat cityscape vertically to create, explore and grow new types of spaces. — bustler.net

Shanghai is the fastest-growing city in the world, according to MetroMonitor, a quarterly analysis from the Brookings Institution that compares the 200 most prosperous metros by income and job growth. The victims of the euro zone crisis dominate the end of the list. Athens, Lisbon, and Dublin, the capitals of the three most endangered nations in Europe's sovereign debt crisis, made up the bottom three. — theatlantic.com

This survey is not based solely on quality of life, number of trees or the cost of a month’s rent. Instead, we examine some cities that aim to be both smart and well managed, yet have an undeniably hip vibe. Our pick of cities that are, in a phrase, both great and good... — nytimes.com

Is this what Disco looks like? I’m a bit conflicted about how to describe the interior of this installation by Serge Salat, because I’m not sure how to combine the following words into a single sentence (other than just listing them): Sol LeWitt, Fractals, Disco, Kaleidoscope and LED. — thefoxisblack.com

Once the definitive bicycle city, Beijing is responding to growing congestion and ongoing smog by setting a new target: for 23% of commuters to pedal to work by 2015. To achieve this target, new infrastructure for cyclists is to be wheeled in, with improved bicycle lanes, more parking facilities and a rental scheme to put a further 50,000 bikes on the roads by 2015. — sustainablecitiescollective.com

Check out this new animated film, Plan Of The City, conceived and directed by Joshua Frankel, featuring flying skyscrapers from New York and Shanghai, remixed cities, the Martian landscape and a chamber ensemble. The film is, in part, a love letter to architecture, urban planing, and impossible proposals for each. It is also an experiment in extending the concept of collage through live action video and animation. — bustler.net