She is now helping the development area build a China-South Korea Industry Park, and she has already brought in three South Korean companies to invest in the city's high-tech zone

The 14th Street near U Street, a traditional African American neighborhood, is now lined up with hip restaurants and bars in this photo taken on SundayThe area, a 90 percent black neighborhood just a few decades ago, was only 30 percent African American by 2010

Hyra described the massive transformation in the U Street/Shaw area, where the city's once most infamous open-air drug market has become a farmers' market now selling grass-fed beef and homemade duck egg ravioliThe Wharf residential and business project I visited recently is probably one of the biggestThe same urban renewal is happening in other parts of Washington

The U Street/Shaw and 14th Street area has fast been turned into an upscale neighborhood in recent years, with many new restaurants and shops opening and new apartment constructionOnly a short walk from the National Mall, it looks like a good place to live, work and hang out

The area has seen a sharp increase in the white population and skyrocketing property prices, a sign of gentrification in the Washington DC

He saw major issues of gentrification and segregation in Washington beneath the surface of rapid urban renewalSince taking charge, his research center has published a series of academic papers in major scientific journals, including Nature, which has helped raise Shanghai University's international profile

Despite only arriving in China three years ago, Australian professor Jeffrey Reimers has already had a significant impact on Shanghai's scientific communityAll these things are global issues that affect China, and China is doing its share to address these key issues

He is currently working on a project that involves protein crystallography, a vital element in drug design, and is collaborating with prominent Chinese scientist Hong Guo on research into silicon electronicsThree or four years ago, when my family and I were on the subway or a bus in Shanghai, people around would talk to us