Lying adjacent to Hong Kong in the Pearl River Delta, Shenzhen used to be an area filled with small fishing villages. It became a New Town when in 1980 the central Chinese government gave it the status of Special Economic Zone and planned a city on the location. In only thirty years, the number of inhabitants has grown from 30,000 to an unofficial count of almost fifteen million, of which 82% are immigrants. This rapid expansion has led to a thriving economy, but also to many problems such as a massive floating population and deterioration of the environment; the ecological system and land- and water resources.
Therefore, though only 30 years young, Shenzhen is already rethinking its economic and urban future and therefore its identity – shifting from an industrial city with a manufacturing industry to a creative city which thrives on the service- and knowledge-industry. On top of this all, the city aims to become the first Chinese low-carbon eco-demonstration city.