During Summer 2009, I began my pilot field research in Shanghai by exploring potential field sites and visiting departments of geography, sociology, anthropology and civil engineering at Shanghai's Tongi University, Jiaotong University and Shanghai Daxue. I visited scrap yards in Shanghai's Luwan, Jing'an, Hongkou and Xuhui districts, and collected a variety of media from the Shanghai Municipal Archives. Receiving the Adam Kolff Fellowship from the CU Boulder geography department was essential for funding my six weeks in China.