Public Art and the Adaptive Reuse of Shanghai's Waterfront Industrial Heritage

Public art is internationally recognized as a powerful tool for urban regeneration, serving as a dynamic force to promote placemaking. Its core concept lies in art as a communicative form, functioning as site-specific and community art that engages with and influences cultural and social dynamics. Public art initiates dialogues with the architecture, infrastructure, and historical and contemporary heritage, playing a pivotal role in conservation, regeneration, and redevelopment projects within public or communal spaces. It can highlight urban heritage spaces, stimulate vibrancy, revitalize neglected or underused areas, and help to reconstruct social memory and identity. The adaptive reuse of waterfront industrial heritage and port areas has become a central issue in the context of urban regeneration, cultural revival, and sustainable development in many countries (Vafaie et al., 2023). Public art, as a creative and cultural strategy, not only enhances the aesthetic appeal of waterfront spaces but also contributes significantly to encouraging post-industrial transformation and fostering social integration. In Shanghai, an international metropolis, public art has been leveraged to drive the adaptive reuse of its waterfront industrial heritage, effectively transforming areas once known as "industrial rust belts" into thriving "cultural showcase belts." This study analyzes key cases such as the Shanghai West Bund Cultural Belt and Yangpu Riverside, which have effectively incorporated public art into the regeneration plans of industrial heritage sites. It also compares international examples, including London's South Bank, New York's Hudson River Park, Bilbao's Nervión River mouth, and Emscher Park in the Ruhr District of Germany, to examine the impact of transformations and subsequent outcomes and to highlight global best practices. Finally, the paper proposes strategies for enhancing public art in Shanghai’s waterfront cultural belt, aiming to support sustainable urban regeneration, foster a more vibrant and socially inclusive urban environment, and increase recognition of industrial culture and collective memory of the past.