While global networks afford power to the individuals they connect, they also render them vulnerable to the effects produced by others within the network. Consequently, the invisibility of global connectivity makes it possible for the exploitation of unsuspecting individuals by non-local agents in addition to these inhibiting individuals from taking full advantage of the potential power to resist that exploitation that global networks might afford. Although other virtual mediums of interaction have their advantages, their biggest downfall comes from the fact that their space of engagement is removed from the public sphere. However, a tangible infrastructure that could represent the flows of and exchanges of globalization would allow for a conscious and public engagement with these forces. This tangibility would allow humans to gain an immediate and direct connection to the otherwise inscrutable global reality in which they live. This would result in a new subjectivity, wherein individuals become empowered to act within this global context.

This thesis will demonstrate the potential of such a tangible manifestation of this global reality in the form of speculative globalized infrastructures for the city of Shanghai. The typology of infrastructure is familiar to humanity and presents itself as an organized machine. This prescribed organization is in contrast to the accidental nature that takes place within life itself. The political empowerment that such a virtualization
affords is particularly crucial in the context of a city such as Shanghai.