An al fresco boost to business

In recent years, the Shanghai municipal government has issued a series of measures encouraging law-abiding, compliant activities, such as outdoor seating areas and street vendors.

On Sept 5, the government released new measures to enhance the "hustle and bustle" of neighborhoods by fine-tuning outdoor seating areas, including increasing their operating time during major holidays and festival events, and adding necessary equipment such as public lighting, toilets and sewage, and garbage disposal.

The city government also encourages local administrators to enact measures tailor-made for their neighborhoods.

Daxue Road in Yangpu district is a frontrunner in this economy. In 2023, the governing body of the Wujiaochang area, where the road is located, unveiled rules on the design of outdoor seating areas.

Many thoughtful considerations were included: outdoor seating areas should not extend beyond the street lamps to avoid blocking the traffic; dividers between stores cannot be more than 130 centimeters high to avoid feeling confined; rain covers and cables should be inspected regularly to avoid safety issues.

In Huangpu district, similar measures will be issued soon, after three years of trial operations.

The new measures extend the scope of outdoor display settings from "within the property line" to "exclusive or shared areas of commercial tenants" for the first time, including the roof, achieving a breakthrough expansion of outdoor display space, says Xu Zhijie, who is in charge of Huangpu district's urban management bureau.

In addition, in line with the city urging night-time economic development, the new measures have abolished the fixed time limit for outdoor seating, allowing operators and merchants to appropriately extend and flexibly adjust the operating hours based on actual conditions and local circumstances.

"Shanghai's outdoor street economy has improved regulated development, vividly demonstrating that fine-grain governance can not only make street vending a key driver for consumption recovery, but also transform urban vitality into cultural appeal, achieving a dynamic balance between order and vitality," Xie adds.