On the Sustainability of Industrial Heritage Creative Clusters: The Case of M50, Shanghai

Abstract

With the introduction of the UN’s 2030 Agenda (Sustainable Development Goals) and a new emphasis on both culture and the ecological environment in China’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025, inclusive), we now face a significant test case for global development. The future trajectory of industrial heritage creative clusters in China has drawn increasing attention, in part as it is becoming increasingly clear how global development (all over the world) has been propelled by urbanisation. As a selective presentation on what remains from a glorious industrial past, whether London or Shanghai, industrial heritage clusters face their own question on the future — how can they achieve sustainable development and become an active factor in a city’s historical evolution? This article takes the M50 Creative Cluster in Shanghai to survey what remains of its 20-year development trajectory in the context of the city’s evolving urban development. This article explores the potential driving forces for an ongoing sustainability, as well as the constraints clusters faces; it aims to provide insights for a policy agenda that integrates cultural policy and urban sustainability. The article first reviews the global and Chinese trajectories of industrial heritage creative clusters and then surveys relevant literature on creative clusters and their sustainable development. Using Lily Kong’s framework for understanding the sustainability of creative clusters, the article offers a detailed assessment of M50’s development path, summarising its dynamic patterns and offering reflections that may inform the sustainable development of similar creative clusters.