Evolution And Influence Factors Of Shanghai Public Cultural Facilities Spatial Distribution

Decision-making bases can be provided for urban planning and development byexamining the evolution of spatial distribution of public cultural facilities in cities.Aiming at Shanghai, this paper studies the evolution of spatial distribution of publiccultural facilities in terms of quantity, pattern and trends in different period over thepast one hundred years since the opening of ports based on1,783pieces of data onlibraries, museums and cultural centers according to theories and methodologiesabout geographic information system, historical geography and spatial datavisualization. By analyzing evolution features of spatial distribution of public culturalfacilities in four periods (after the opening of port&before the anti-Japanese war,before liberation, before reform, after reform) and influencing factors, thedevelopment history of public cultural facilities in Shanghai is summarized. Thepresent research is of both theoretical and practical significances. For one thing, itfills in the blanks of studies on spatial distribution of public cultural facilities beforeliberation, improves the data on public cultural facilities and enriches the theories onsuch facilities. For another thing, the development of public cultural facilities isfacilitated in Shanghai by cultural strategies for reinvigorating China proposed in the18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, so as to providedecision-making bases for urban planning in Shanghai and a beautiful blueprint forplanning public cultural facilities in other cities.Over the past10decades, public cultural facilities have gone through a processof rise and fall in their quantity for three times in Shanghai. All districts and countiesdeveloped at extremely different speed in terms of facility quantity, while suburbsdeveloped faster than cities on the whole. Besides, their development differed indifferent parts where southwestern areas develop fastest and northern areas grewmost slowly. In this case, per capital possession of public cultural facilities gotincreasingly imbalanced and the number of suburbs is obviously lower.Public cultural facilities in Shanghai have always been characterized byaggregated distribution and aggregated to a larger extent. Meanwhile, the distribution pattern has progressively transformed from previous central aggregationand peripheral divergence to large-scale central aggregation and small-scaleperipheral aggregation. Furthermore, the scope of central aggregation is graduallyexpanded and small-scale peripheral aggregation is mainly implemented for district&county centers.The trends and features of spatial distribution of public cultural facilities areremarkable in Shanghai. Before liberation, the distribution center of public culturalfacilities changed from east to west, whereas it gradually moved towards southeastand has been in Xuhui District after liberation, with a variation tendency in thedistribution from “northeast-southwest” to “northwest-southeast”.Before liberation, public cultural facilities in Shanghai were primarily affected bypolicies, concession area, histories and wars. They were mostly impacted bygovernmental policies and population demands, while they were also influenced byeconomic development, transportation and location after the reform and opening-upof China.During future development of public cultural facilities in Shanghai, it isnecessary to well balance the quantity of public cultural facilities in cities andsuburbs, and the development speed of facilities in four parts (northwest, southeast,northeast and southwest). Additionally, there is a need to well plan public culturalfacilities in Jinshan District, Songjiang District, Jiading District and Baoshan District. Inthe meantime, it is suggested that factors such as population demands,transportation, location and economic development shall be preliminarily consideredin developing and planning public cultural facilities in other second and third-tiercities, for the purpose of better developing public cultural facilities all at once andimplementing China’s cultural strategies for revitalizing the country.