For the past 150 years or so, Shanghai has been a city that has flourished due to successful business and trade. Shanghai is situated midway on the coast of the East China Sea and was the first city to trade openly with Western countries. Since Shanghai’s location is perfect for trade routes, Western powerhouses established themselves in Shanghai, and you can still see those influences to this day from the architecture of buildings, business practices, and environment. There was a point in Shanghai’s history where the French, British, and American government had settlements in Shanghai. They wanted to establish these settlements because they saw the potential of making a lot of money by investing in the city. Even though all of those countries are out of Shanghai now, they jumpstarted the city's economic and population booms. Shanghai is now the most populated city in the world and is on its way towards being recognized as a worldwide financial center. To reach these achievements, the environment has been affected negatively due to overcrowding, air pollution, water contamination, and many other environmental issues.
