Xinmin Evening News:

Shanghai is home to many tall buildings and, at the same time, harbors old neighborhoods in need of improved living conditions. How does Shanghai improve people's quality of life through urban renewal? Thank you.

Gong Zheng:

Thank you for your question; I will answer it. The CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and Shanghai municipal government attach great importance to providing livable and secure housing for citizens and continue to carry out urban renewal and the reconstruction of old areas. On July 26, 2022, we marked a significant milestone by completing the renovation of contiguous dilapidated old lane houses below level-two standard in downtown Shanghai, thus concluding an over three-decade-long campaign to improve residents' living conditions. Following the completion of these old neighborhood renovations, we plan to speed up and intensify the renovation of "two old houses and one village," which refers to scattered old houses below the level-two standard, non-standard old housing, and urban villages. We aim to complete the reconstruction project within 10 years, spanning the tenure of two governments. Last year was the first year of the reconstruction project, and we completed the annual target ahead of schedule. We completed the renovation of 123,000 square meters of scattered dilapidated houses below the level-two standard and 296,000 square meters of non-standard old housing. Additionally, we initiated 10 urban village transformation projects. Most importantly, we have removed barriers in carrying out renovation projects. Over the years, we have achieved "two innovations":

One is pattern innovation. For example, we have initiated renewal projects aimed at comprehensive application, such as renovating Fangualong's incomplete staff housing and reconstructing Ruikangli's incomplete alleyways. In the Ruikangli project, we explored four combined resettlement methods: voluntary application for relocation, physical resettlement in another location, repurchase or re-leasing at the original site, enabling residents to choose according to their needs and achieving cost reduction and efficiency improvement for the project.

The other area is policy innovation. We have issued implementation guidelines for urban renewal and a series of supporting policies. For instance, we have explored and established a "three-engineer" responsibility system, involving the collaboration of responsible planners, architects, and assessors. This approach allows professionals to handle their specialized tasks, addressing issues such as insufficient planning and coordination, low design quality, and mismatched standards and specifications in urban renewal.

In the next step, Shanghai will continue to make significant efforts to explore a sustainable path for urban renewal, focusing on the renovation of old areas and housing, as well as urban villages, to improve the living conditions of more citizens. Additionally, we will carry out the renovation and upgrading of old industrial zones, commercial and business districts, and conservation areas, accelerate the renovation of the second facade of the Bund, and implement several renewal projects such as Wusong Innovation City, further enhancing the city's quality and stimulating its vitality. Thank you.