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Text/Chen Haoxing

Since the beginning of this year, many places have accelerated the pace of urban renewal.

Recently, data from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development showed that more than 66,000 urban renewal projects have been implemented across the country, with an investment of 2.6 trillion yuan. The comprehensive results brought about by the implementation of the urban renewal action are gradually emerging.

What is the purpose of urban renewal? What conveniences will it provide for the people?

Not only does it allow the city to “grow again”

On August 8, in Guangzhou, Guangdong, the main plant renovation project of Guangzhou Power Plant, the oldest existing thermal power plant in Guangdong Province with a history of 89 years, started.

Guangzhou Power Plant was built in 1935. In 2018, in order to implement energy conservation, emission reduction and coal consumption reduction, the power generating units of Guangzhou Power Plant were shut down; in March 2024, with the approval of Guangzhou Municipal People's Government, Guangzhou Power Plant completed the land control planning adjustment.

After renovation, this old factory area covering 149,000 square meters will be transformed into a 280,000 square meter multifunctional industrial community integrating industrial carriers, scientific and technological innovation sharing, and cultural leisure.

In addition, in Xicheng District, Beijing, old residential communities were demolished and rebuilt, and residents bid farewell to old, dilapidated and small houses and moved into new homes with reasonable layouts and complete facilities.

Building No. 8, Huapichang Hutong, is located in Xinjiekou Street, Xicheng District, Beijing. It is a 5-story residential building built in the 1970s. On May 28 this year, Building No. 8, Huapichang Hutong became the first on-site reconstruction and renovation project in Xicheng District, Beijing, to be handed over. Local residents moved into the new building on the original site and got the long-awaited house deeds. Aunt Ji happily said while holding the house deeds: "The layout of the new house is very good. It looks comfortable, like an apartment. There is an elevator, and there are safety handrails and other elderly-friendly equipment in the corridor."

In addition, in Guang'an, Sichuan, the construction of sponge cities has solved the problems of imperfect drainage facilities in the old city and low living quality of residents; in Shijiazhuang, Hebei, the old factory buildings with industrial heritage have been transformed into unique parks, and citizens and tourists come to take photos and check in in an endless stream...

Luo Xueming, chief expert of Guangdong Modern Urban Industrial Technology Research InstituteIn an interview with China News Service, he said that urban renewal not only makes the city "grow again", but also comprehensively upgrades the lives of residents. By improving public service facilities, it has greatly enriched the daily life experience of residents. At the same time, urban renewal has also brought about a significant increase in employment opportunities, mainly due to attracting more new companies and investments, thus further revitalizing the economy.

How to implement urban renewal?

Experts said that although various regions have successively introduced urban renewal policies, my country has not yet formed a national-level law and regulation to serve as a guide for urban renewal.

Feng Kui, Vice President and Researcher of China Regional Science AssociationIn an interview with China News Service, he said that the original accumulated planning, construction, management and other systems are suitable for large-scale urban growth. However, for urban renewal focusing on stock transformation and upgrading, this system and its detailed regulations have many shortcomings.

Feng Kui gave an example, from the standards of land use to fire-fighting facilities, from the practice of "large-scale demolition and construction" to the experiment of installing elevators in each household, urban renewal is facing many new problems.

In Luo Xueming's view, the current practice of urban renewal faces many challenges, and some regions even lack a set of standardized and widely applicable operating procedures. This situation not only leads to a significant decline in work efficiency, but also increases the uncertainty of project implementation.

“Therefore, in urban renewal, each city should formulate urban renewal policies based on its unique geographical, economic and cultural background to ensure the adaptability, effectiveness and feasibility of the system. At the same time, the coordination of interests among multiple different entities such as residents, developers and governments is often full of challenges and contradictions, and requires sophisticated strategies, patience and balanced communication to reach a consensus.”

At present, many places have begun to make a series of changes in promoting urban renewal. Recently, many local housing and urban-rural construction bureaus have been renamed as housing and urban renewal bureaus. The name change reflects that the functions of housing and urban construction departments are shifting from traditional housing construction and management to a greater focus on the optimization and renewal of urban space.

Taking Hubei Province, which has undergone a centralized name change, as an example, the province's urban renewal work guidelines suggest that local governments clearly define the competent departments for urban renewal. Including urban renewal in the names of relevant government departments will make work tasks clearer and the progress more orderly.

Where does the money for urban renewal projects come from?

Urban renewal covers a wide range of areas and complex tasks, and projects usually require large-scale capital investment and a long payback period. Therefore, while promoting and further improving relevant systems, it must also receive strong financial support.

At present, there is huge market potential behind urban renewal. In the process of urban renewal, investment in real estate, urban infrastructure, commercial and service facilities, cultural tourism development and other fields has continued to increase. Some research institutions predict that by 2029, the scale of urban renewal investment will exceed 9 trillion yuan.

Feng Kui pointed out thatThe core goal of urban renewal is to achieve high-quality urban development, which includes sustainability, environmental friendliness, and an efficient urban governance system. Achieving this goal does not rely solely on fiscal investment, but requires the establishment of a diversified and sustainable urban renewal financing model. Therefore, all parties, including the government, enterprises, and residents, need to actively participate, while exploring more sources of funds and adopting a diversified combination of funding methods.

Luo Xueming said,Funding is the key to promoting urban renewal projectsIn addition to relying on local fiscal revenue as a foundation, bank loans also provide developers and various enterprises with a key financing channel to help the smooth progress of projects. At the same time, the introduction of social capital can attract private investment and promote public-private cooperation.BondsIssuance, urban renewal funds and public-private partnership (PPP) models all provide flexible and efficient financing solutions for urban renewal.

In terms of funding, there is already official support. In April, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development jointly issued a notice, clarifying that starting from this year, the central government will innovate ways and methods to support some cities in carrying out urban renewal demonstration work.

Recently, after competitive review, 15 cities including Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan, Shenyang, Shanghai, Nanjing and others received the first batch of central financial support.

Source: National Express

Editor: Gao Yantang

Editor: Wei Xi