Open Letter to the City of West Sacramento

You guys are really missing the boat by not having the District of Pudong China as a Sister City. Like West Sacramento, Pudong is across the river from a larger city with an identity. Unlike Pudong, West Sacramento has not done much to improve it's identity.

What you see above is Shanghai and the Bund area below the river and Pudong above the river. Once Shanghai and the Bund were considered one of the top cities in the world with New York, London and Paris. Pudong was just an industrial area on the other side of the river. Now when you look at pictures of Shanghai you usually are looking at Pudong from the Shanghai side like below.

How did they do it? First you need and iconic structure. They did it with the Pearl Tower you see above. The tower is mainly a television transmission tower but it also has an observation deck and tours of the tower. Next they developed the waterfront and added architecture with a wow factor. You need to do this by stealing business from the Sacramento side. Sacramento is slow to act. Take this opportunity to improve your waterfront and grab business.

Why not talk to Pudong and learn from them. Now is the time.