Build it and they will come.

The new year ushered in three brand new subway lines consisting of 59 new stations in Shanghai which took approximately 2 years to build. This kind of change sharply contrasts with New York where it takes years to build a few new stations along the E line about 10 years ago.

There are now 9 subway lines in Shanghai. We took one of the lines from end to end. This particular line extends into the suburbs of Shanghai. When we New Yorkers think suburbs, we think of places like Queens or Brooklyn. These are places where it is more residential but still developed. The areas that some of the subway lines here in Shanghai extends to are underdeveloped to even rural areas. This is indicative of how nascent the development of Shanghai is compared to other cities around the world. The downtown areas are as developed now as any big urban centers around the world, but the concept of suburbs is still taking root. With a population of over 15 million, there is a desperate need for a suburban area because the urban areas are so densely populated.

What is happening here reminds me of a PBS documentary that I viewed about the history of New York City. When the subways of New York extended to Brooklyn and Queens, people wonder "Why there? nobody lives there anyway - its all farm land." This is kind of what I saw out of the windows of the elevated number 9 line here in Shanghai. Of course, once the subway is in place commuting from those once isolated areas will become easier thus stimulating development.

The process is continuing at a feverish pace. There are more lines under construction currently and will continue to make transportation more efficient.

In closing, if one has the resources or patience it might not be a bad idea to invest in some property along some of these new subway lines; but that is another conversation.