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Expo hunt begins for world's Urban Best Practices

The "Urban Best Practices Area" is located in the red part of the Expo Site master plan.

Shanghai yesterday began the process to select best practices that will showcase their urban innovation at the World Expo 2010 site.

The chosen Urban Best Practices will be displayed in a specific area, with the opportunity to show their achievements on an international stage.

Zhou Hanmin, deputy director of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, yesterday described the Urban Best Practices Area as one of the biggest challenges in preparation for Expo 2010.

He said Shanghai has earmarked a 15-hectare-area within the Puxi-side of the Expo site, for the Urban Best Practices Area -- a place for exhibiting Best Practices such as urban architecture, real landscapes and design concepts, etc. from about 30 international cities.

Starting today, cities around the world can submit their projects for consideration either by themselves of as a joint project with international organisations or companies. A Shanghai International Selection Committee will help propose and select the best examples for the Urban Best Practices Area.

Selected cases will be announced late this year. The bureau will be in charge of merging all the selected best practices within the area in a harmonious way, Zhou said.

The Urban Best Practices Area will take the best practices to create a simulated city block which will include, for example, real scenes of cities, including water landscaping, residential houses, street arrangements, conservation of heritage houses and environmentally friendly products, etc.

Sites planned for the area include :

An old power plant that will be transformed into a pavilion called Exploration of Future Cities.

The construction of a new Global Urban Plaza.

Other old factories that will be transformed into exhibition halls.