Page 2 - 20191231【上海日报】12月刊

C2 Jing’an Tuesday 31 December 2019 Shanghai Daily

Life is better when creative ideas flourish

This month, Jing’an honored 20 grassroots initiatives that have improved the conditions of local residents and
businesses alike. The awarded programs, selected from 48 candidates, demonstrate how local problems can be
tackled and quality of life enhanced with a little creative thinking. Here are several of the winners. Li Qian reports.

Jing’an Cultural and Tourism Bureau

Keywords: Culture at the doorstep
Instead of having to travel to cinemas and the district govern-
theaters, Jing’an residents can ment, have continued.
now enjoy a variety of cul- To observe this year’s 70th
tural activities right in their local anniversary of the founding of
communities. the People’s Republic of China,
This year, new activities were the bureau joined hands with
Jing’ansi Subdistrict added. They included appear- the Shanghai Opera House to
ances of renowned artists such create a new opera about the
Keywords: Yuyuan Road Store as Liao Changyong. Other life of Li Dazhao, a Party founder
Alliance popular activities, such as the and pioneer. The production
distribution of 5-yuan (71 US has been staged in community
Retailers on Yuyuan Road, which is cents) film tickets to residents, cultural centers, office buildings
dotted with boutiques and eateries, have with subsidies provided by and other neighborhood sites.
established an alliance to keep the local
environment clean and promote business 12
prosperity. This year, the alliance initiated
creative signage in the area. Jiangning Road Subdistrict
“The signage highlights the cultural
characteristics of individual stores and Keywords: The power of people
the unified feature of the surrounding en-
vironment,” said Hong Xuegang, deputy Public opinion and involvement in community
director of the Jing’ansi Subdistrict. “We affairs really do matter, and the Jiangning Road
want to create a vigorous community that Subdistrict is taking steps to ensure they flourish.
doesn’t forget its past.” Over the past three years, it has been soliciting
He said shop owners are clearly told ideas from residents and investing more than
what’s permissible and what’s not. Now, 860,000 yuan (US$122,815) in 97 projects trig-
each of the 91 stores on the 1.3-kilometer gered by their responses.
road has unique signage. Yiyuanqin, a The subdistrict now has 50 teams and 900
grocery store opened in the 1990s, has volunteers involved in community affairs. They
a yellow-and-blue sign featuring cartoon have established a community movie festival, held
fonts. Yipinju, a 16-year-old hotpot eatery, charity bazaars and created vegetable gardens
has a traditional Chinese-style signboard. on vacant land. Old neighborhoods have been
Florist Eliza Flowers has a sign incorpo- revitalized by a new sense of community spirit.
rating vintage and natural elements. Linfen Road Subdistrict
“We have benefited greatly from the
improved environment,” said Lu Wen- Keywords: New elevators
hui, head of the alliance. “We’ve seen an
increase in rents and tenants.” Old residential buildings without determine which could qualify for
elevators have become a vexing elevator installation.
problem amid an aging population. They also simplified the applica-
Many elderly have trouble negotiating tion process for residential build-
stairways, and some have become ings seeking to install elevators,
virtual prisoners in upper-story units. with government subsidies avail-
In the Linfen Road Subdistrict, able to reduce the cost to individual
there are 13,000 senior citizens living households.
in buildings without elevators. Their In the first six months, work began
plight became a top local priority this on installing elevators in seven build-
year. ings, with most nearing completion.
Local officials conducted surveys Another 84 buildings are wending Beizhan Subdistrict
in 17 large residential complexes to their way through the process.
Nanjing Road W. Subdistrict Keywords: Happier mall workers
Keywords: Dagu Road self-policing To assist the more than 3,500 people who work
Pengpu Xincun Subdistrict in the Joy City mall, a project has been initiated
Dagu Road, a 500-meter-long back- to improve their conditions. It has worked with
street that feeds into Nanjing Road W., Keywords: Urban renewal mall restaurants to offer affordable lunch menus
used to be a vibrant, popular nighttime for mall staff and nearby office workers. It also
fun spot. However, residents complained The Pengpu Xincun Subdistrict is a worked with district authorities to build a gym for
about loud music, noisy drinkers spilling typical old residential area, where thou- employees and set up a one-stop services center
out onto the sidewalks and high levels of sands of families, largely elderly, were to deal with their administrative affairs.
garbage generated by revelers. living in shabby buildings dating back to
In 2017, the subdistrict tried to address the 1950s and 60s.
the problem by shortening business In the worst situations, a kitchen was
hours and banning outside tables. It shared by five families and one toilet
succeeded in reducing noise but also shared by three.
slashed the revenue of businesses there Renewal work started in March 2005.
by up to 40 percent. So, establishments In some cases, existing apartments
along the road decided something have been upgraded to include toilets
should be done. Subdisrict authorities and kitchens in every home. Additional
agreed with a plan they proposed. floors are sometimes added to ease
As a result, a committee of Dagu Road apartment cramping. And in cases
businesses with 74 members now self- where buildings are beyond rehabilita-
polices the road. Together, they monitor tion, demolition makes way for con-
noise levels and sanitation. The road has struction of new homes. Currently, the
regained its popularity while maintaining renewal program has tackled 51 build-
peace with local residents. ings and benefited 1,919 families.