The new economy of vision : new urban spaces in post-1992 Shanghai

Abstract: This masters' thesis, "The New Economy of Vision : New Urban Spaces in post-1992 Shanghai", authored by Johan Vaide, draws on the economic reforms initiated in the late 1970s to show how Shanghai has experienced a rapid and well-calculated change of its cultural landscape. Due to the launch of "socialism with Chinese characteristics" in 1978 and the construction of an entirely new district (Pudong Xingqu, i.e. Pudong New Area) in 1992, Shanghai has experienced an arising new economy of vision. In particular, the thesis focuses on the construction of new urban spaces and new subject positions. Drawing on dialogues with Shanghainese youth, sociologists Manuel Castells' and Saskia Sassen's theories on globalisation, the Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser's concepts of "ideology", "state apparatus" and "ideological state apparatuses", Erving Goffman's theory on "space", Peter L Berger and Thomas Luckmann's theory on "institution", state-led urban re/construction, the new economy of vision is best portrayed by giving examples of the new physical reality that has emerged in Shanghai. The novel physical reality consists of shopping arcades, advertisements along certain streets, global artefacts, entertainment venues and individuals that are acting in these new spaces. The thesis also deals with "the negative" aspects of the new economy of vision: the new layers of inequality (the including and excluding of social groups) that have emerged and due to the urban renewal, individuals have been relocated to other parts of the city. Keywords: new urban spaces, economic reforms, Shanghai, shopping malls, advertisement, new role models, cultural globalisation, entertainment venues, preservation, relocation.