Pengpu Xincun renovates housing, caters to the elderly

Ke Jiayun
One of Shanghai's first groups of workers' communities, the Pengpu Xincun Subdistrict is renovating houses, building new multi-story complexes, and caring for its aging population.
Ke Jiayun

Editor's note:

Jing'an comprises 13 subdistricts – Jing'ansi, Caojiadu, Jiangning Road, Shimen Road No.2, Nanjing Road W., Tianmu Road W., Beizhan, Baoshan Road, Zhijiang Road W., Gonghexin Road, Daning Road, Pengpu Xincun and Linfen Road, and one town – Pengpu. Each of them is working to make Jing'an a better place. We invite a local resident or worker to introduce the best of each subdistrict and town in this series.

Pengpu Xincun renovates housing, caters to the elderly

Li Yanping

Office director of Pengpu Xincun Subdistrict

Pengpu Xincun renovates housing, caters to the elderly

Renovation of old houses

Pengpu Xincun is among the first group of workers’ communities in Shanghai, which had witnessed the glory and pride of several generations of model workers by that era.

However, after more than six decades, the houses have become old with multiple problems, such as kitchens and bathrooms being shared by several households, dilapidated houses and leaky roofs. The residents have a strong desire to renovate the old houses.

Since 2005, the Pengpu Xincun Subdistrict has explored different methods, from renovating single buildings to forming a renovation system for the entire community, to answer the residents’ call for improving the housing conditions.

The renovation of the Pengsan community was divided into five phases. The first phase mainly included the community’s expansion and renovation, while the next four phases were about demolition and reconstruction.

The project also created several “city firsts” — the second phase was the first “demolition and relocation” program that allowed residents to move into a house rebuilt on the site of their demolished house; the fourth phase was the first “demolition and relocation” program that rebuilt high-rise buildings with elevators; and the fifth phase of the project was agreed to and signed by all residents.

In March 2022, the residents moved back to the community and into their new homes.

In the renovation project of the Pengyi community, which has a large number of households and a complicated situation, 40 dilapidated multi-storey houses will be transformed into a residential complex on the same site, with 17 buildings of eight to 19 floors, with elevators.

A two-storey underground garage with nearly 1,700 parking spaces will be built, along with many facilities for improving residents’ quality of life.

Over the past 18 years, Pengpu Xincun Subdistrict has renovated 102 houses, benefiting 4,907 households.

Pengpu Xincun renovates housing, caters to the elderly

Installation of elevators

As a community with many elderly people, the subdistrict has promoted the installation of elevators as one of its priorities since it launched this project in 2021.

At present, 391 elevators have been under installation, of which 177 have been completed.

This year, the subdistrict will sign contracts for 75 elevators, start construction on 47, and complete another 15. The number of contracts signed and elevators completed ranked first and second, respectively, among all subdistricts of Jing’an.

In March of this year, the subdistrict opened an elevator management center on Linfen Road, displaying models of buildings with elevators for residents to understand the different types of elevator installation.

The center has also introduced professional institutions to settle there and signed a four-party management agreement with the construction company, property management company and maintenance company to implement the responsibilities of each party.

It has introduced elevator advertisements to subsidize costs for operation and maintenance, and ensure the elevators stay in working order.

Pengpu Xincun renovates housing, caters to the elderly

Happy elderly-care service community

There are 54,500 elderly people living in the subdistrict, accounting for 45 percent of the population.

To better serve the elderly, the subdistrict has realized full coverage of service facilities for the aged in its eastern, central and western areas. There are three comprehensive elderly service centers, five community canteens and 38 elderly activity centers in residential complexes in the subdistrict.

It also has one community healthcare center, 12 community medical service sites, five nursing homes and one daytime service center for the elderly.

To improve the quality of life and safety for the elderly, the subdistrict took the lead in launching a campaign on home renovation for the aged and improving elderly care services in the community.

The subdistrict promotes standardized construction at its five community canteens. The Pengsan community canteen was rated one of the “2022 Top Ten Healthy Canteens of Shanghai Elderly Care Institutions.”

This year, the subdistrict launched an intelligent elderly service platform, collecting data such as the elderly population in the area, and basic information about the 64 community elderly service sites, including day care centers and community canteens.

The platform brings together professionals such as elderly care consultants and practitioners, social workers and volunteers, to form a network for elderly care services, providing data support for optimizing service processes and improving efficiency.


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