Shanghai Street View: Creative Problem Solving

Separate news items this week got me thinking about 2 major headaches for many ordinary Shanghai citizens, and my own creative solutions for the problems. One issue involves the all-too-familiar problem of unwanted noises in our bustling city, while the other involves the bothersome security checks at our subway stations.

There are many sources of unwanted noise in our city, but one of the most common is the loud music that often comes from karaoke singers and dancers who hold their activities in large public spaces. The issue of subway security is also a controversial one, as the city walks a fine line between trying to keep our subway system safe while avoiding bottlenecks and too much passenger inconvenience.
The recent headline that got me thinking about the noise problem involves Shanghai’s ongoing ambitious plan to set up a citywide network of specialty retirement communities. That plan has seen Shanghai already build 40 such communities, with plans to boost the number to 100 by the end of next year.

A report discussing the plan points out that 90 percent of retirees now live with their children, while only 7 percent live in retirement communities. That means that retirees often don’t have easy access to the specialized services and facilities they need, such as clinics and activity centers that cater to older people. It also means that retirees are often dispersed throughout the community, with few special areas for them to hold activities that would be of special interest to their demographic.

Those diffuse conditions may be partly responsible for the numerous groups that engage in everything from karaoke singing to dancing and musical performances in just about any big open spaces throughout the city. Such groups are often mostly retirees, and tend to perform using noisy loudspeakers in the morning and evening hours when nearby residents are trying to sleep or rest, often leading to conflict.

These new retirement villages could provide a solution for that conflict by providing their own large spaces where retirees can hold their activities. Once there are enough such communities, the city could even go one step further and ban such activities in large public spaces close to residential buildings where other people live. At the very least, this approach would confine all the noise to the retiree communities, which could set up their own guidelines to minimize the impact for other retirees who also don’t like the loud noise.

Next let’s move to the sensitive subject of the subway security checks, which are universally loathed by pretty much anyone who uses the system. The checks are time consuming and inconvenient, and enforcement by the 2-3 staffers at each checkpoint is often inconsistent. But the checks also become a major bottleneck during peak hours, when hundreds of people may try to enter through a single entrance in just 5 or 10 minutes.

In a bid to address that particular problem, a panel of experts has proposed issuing daily commuters with “real name” cards that allow them to skip the checks. Many airports in the US already use a similar system, which allows frequent flyers to get a background check, and then use a streamlined security check at the airport.

I should applaud the experts for trying to address this sensitive issue that causes so many headaches for commuters who use the subway far more often than even the most frequent flyers. On a more conceptual level, these checks also send a bad signal that the government doesn’t trust its own residents to responsibly use their own subway system.

I do recognize that security is a very real concern, both from potential for terrorism and also from people who bring dangerous substances onto trains. But the current system uses far too broad an approach, which often renders it inefficient, especially during peak times.
Instead, I would suggest a more targeted approach, whereby the thousands of low-skilled safety checkers could be trained how to spot suspicious and illegal activities. Such workers could then patrol the stations for such activity both inside and outside, and call a uniformed police officer to assist if they think there’s a real danger.

This kind of approach would be far more efficient, and would have the added benefit of helping to rid the subways of other illegal activities like begging, handing out leaflets and smoking. What’s more, workers could learn a real skill by understanding how to identify security threats, which could be useful in other future jobs in the private sector.

At the end of the day, this kind of creative problem solving is something that Shanghai must improve at, as it deals with an increasing range of varied and complex problems created by its rapid transformation. Honing such ability will help to keep everyone happy, both at work and at home, creating the efficient and comfortable living environment that Shanghai will need to become a truly world-class city.