'This is a fascinating and highly original book - a difficult achievement given how much has been written about Shanghai in recent years by both journalists and scholars. The author contributes not only to the literature on contemporary China and conversations about the nature of Chinese modernity, but also to interdisciplinary debates in urban studies and philosophical and literary discussions of the future. Shanghai Future should find interested readers in fields ranging from Chinese studies to urban studies, cultural geography to science fiction studies.'
Jeffrey Wasserstrom, author of China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know
'In the boom of writing on Shanghai Greenspan's work stands out for its depth and originality. There is much written about Shanghai's past, but this original text explores how Shanghai represents its own and our collective human futures. A fascinating collection of musings and empirical explorations of the projection of the future onto Shanghai's cityscapes.'
James Farrer, Professor of Sociology at Sophia University and author of Opening Up: Youth Sex Culture and Market Reform in Shanghai
'This is a fascinating narrative of Shanghai's urban and cultural changes, reflecting the process of Chinese ubiquitous modernisation. Anna Greenspan's keen observations on the history of Shanghai and its current transformation provide insightful understandings of the making of modernity in China, like Paris to modern capitalism. The specificity of urban cultural studies is artfully examined from a perspective of national development. A book which profoundly enriches China's urban studies.'
Fulong Wu, Bartlett Professor of Planning, University College London and author of China's Emerging Cities: The Making of New Urbanism
'Shanghai is a global metropolis that constantly seeks to outdo itself. Those who arrive in the city for the first time are routinely shocked and awed by its dizzying skyline, bursting urbanism, and glaring ambitions. Anna Greenspan uses this adopted home to delve into the intriguing question of the future city. Drawing on a wide range of materials and first-hand observations, Greenspan convincingly shows how Shanghai and China will continue to reshape the world and redefine our imaginations of the future.'
Tong Lam, author of Abandoned Futures and A Passion for Facts