An open green space in Shanghai. [Photo/thepaper.cn]

Shanghai will encourage more public institutions to open their green spaces to residents as the city strives to build a green and livable city. 

Deng Jianping, director of Shanghai's Landscaping and City Appearance Administrative Bureau, said on July 11 that the city aims to push for the opening of 40 green spaces attached to public institutions this year.

Since 2021, Shanghai has opened 106 green spaces affiliated with public institutions with a total area of 74.1 hectares. The city has also converted 28 of these green spaces into pocket parks, said Deng.  

The green space of Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House. [Photo/thepaper.cn]

Some of the notable open green spaces include the one affiliated with the Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House on North Shaanxi Road in Jing'an district. The publishing house has opened 1,000 square meters of its green space to the public, with the other 2,000 square meters to be opened after being repurposed into a public space that is suitable for reading and leisure. 

According to Deng, Shanghai has also made significant progress in building "beautiful neighborhoods".

By the end of last year, the city had built 657 "beautiful neighborhoods", accounting for 41 percent of the city's total neighborhoods. It aims to expand the coverage rate of "beautiful neighborhoods" to 50 percent by 2026. 

The city is also upgrading public toilets to better serve senior citizens and children. Deng said that of the city's 2,983 public toilets, 494 have been renovated so far this year, achieving 41 percent of the city's annual goal.

Source: "shlhsr" WeChat account