
From the public transformation of the waterside areas of the Huangpu River to the restoration and renewal of old streets and neighborhoods, east Chinas Shanghai has developed a city renewal paradigm that is people-centered, methodical and sustainable.
The cities are built by the individuals and are for individuals, Chinese President Xi Jinping stated during an evaluation tour of the financial hub in 2019, including that the concept of people-centered advancement need to be performed in metropolitan construction.Guided by the idea, the megacity, through income tasks such as the restoration of old residential buildings and urban towns and the building of a 15-minute community life circle, has improved the living conditions for about 40,000 homes in current years.With the objective to coordinate its financial, living, ecological and security needs, Shanghai has actually accelerated its urban renewal, improved the housing and security system, promoted more inclusive and practical metropolitan services, and speeding up green and low-carbon transformation, taking the lead in producing a habitable, resilient and clever city across the country and building a gorgeous home for the people.High-quality cities for the peopleAs a megacity, Shanghai is continually browsing the complex and multifaceted challenges of city governance –-- a task that is constantly in progress.
By leveraging innovation to empower digital governance, the city is actively advancing forward to execute the principle of people-centered advancement in urban construction.The city has actually constructed 2 networks –-- one that integrates all administrative services and one that runs the entire city.
Built from scratch, the one-stop administrative service platform has actually been in usage for many years and has become a token of administrative services in Shanghai, linking 45 community departments with an average everyday call volume of 1.1 million times.Over the years, Shanghai has actually vigorously advanced online medical assessments, visit scheduling, billing, and mutual acknowledgment of medical records.
Meanwhile, it has actually promoted digital accessibility in all types of civil services, advancing adaptive adjustments for the elderly and people with disabilities.Take for instance Shanghais crucial initiative this year to take on electric bike security risks.
The citys various neighborhoods have actually established elevator gain access to control systems and wise bike sheds, while also linking elevators and sheds in residential areas to an online platform, recognizing the detection of possible threats that might hurt the citys safety in early stages.Today, the city has taken the lead in pioneering a sustainable technique to urban renewal.
The ultimate objective of city renewal is to make sure that every homeowner can take advantage of the development, stated an authorities of the citys municipal commission of real estate and urban rural development.Beyond Shanghai, different Chinese cities have integrated the people-centered technique throughout the whole process of city preparation, building and construction and governance –-- boosting city quality with careful workmanship and empowering city governance with digital technologies.Following the Central Urban Work Conference in 2015, China has actually revealed a series of policies in areas such as reinforcing metropolitan preparation and construction management, and advancing city renewal campaign, to chart the course for metropolitan development.Since 2019, almost 280,000 old property neighborhoods have actually been refurbished throughout the country, benefiting 120 million people.
More than 130,000 elevators have actually been set up, 3.8 million parking areas have actually been added, and 31 million square meters of new cultural, leisure, sports and fitness venues have been included, enhancing peoples sense of gain, happiness and security.In terms of metropolitan facilities construction, the country has actually developed 127,800 kilometers of urban greenways and 48,000 pocket parks, which refer to little outdoor public areas.
A variety of cities have actually achieved intelligent understanding, vibrant monitoring and early warning of the operating conditions of facilities such as gas and water supply.Worlds largest and fastest urbanization processOver the previous few years, China has actually experienced the worlds largest and fastest urbanization process, with its urbanization rate increasing from 11 percent in 1949 to 67 percent in 2024.
This quick change highlights the significance of reliable city preparation and management.Significant achievements in people-centered new urbanization have been made, with the typical per capita living space for urban residents surpassing 40 square meters, the typical per capita park green space approaching 16 square meters, and the total functional length of urban rail transit exceeding 10,000 kilometers.According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, there were simply 129 cities in China at the end of 1949, with a combined population of 39.49 million.
The variety of cities reached 694 at the end of 2023, while prefecture-level and larger cities were home to 673.13 million people.
Among them, there were 29 cities each with a population exceeding 5 million and 11 cities each with a population of over 10 million.Remarkably, Chinas less-developed western area is rising, representing a more balanced urbanization process.
Amongst the 11 prefecture-level cities that have actually been added considering that 2011, nine of them lie in the western region.As urbanization advances, China has actually lifted almost all limits on household registration in cities each with less than 3 million irreversible citizens, making it more convenient for those from backwoods to permanently settle in cities.Building toward habitable, resilient, and smart cities, China presented the city health check system as a pilot program in 2018.
This effort began full application in all prefecture-level and higher-tier cities in 2024, focusing on addressing both immediate public concerns and long-lasting urban development needs.More than 290 prefecture-level cities across the country have actually completely introduced city physical examinations.
The country has an overall of about 400 such cities.In its most current push, China on May 15 unveiled a set of standards, vowing increased policy and financial backing for city renewal projects, which can range from gas pipe updates and lift installations to the restoration of old factories into commercial zones.The standards are created to achieve essential progress in the nations urban renewal project by 2030.
They also intend to improve safety conditions, enhance service efficiency, elevate living environments, establish organization designs, and maintain cultural heritage.