Cities are the centers of economic, political, cultural and social activities in China, and urban construction is an important engine of modernization.

The report of the Twentieth National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed that we should adhere to the principle of building people's cities and people's cities for the people, improve the level of urban planning, construction and governance, accelerate the transformation of the development mode of mega cities, implement urban renewal actions, strengthen urban infrastructure construction, and build a livable, resilient and smart city.

The reporter of China Business Daily noted that since the "urban renewal" was officially written in the Government Work Report in 2021, nearly 40 provinces and cities have issued more than 100 urban renewal related policies, and the support in planning, land, capital and other aspects has been increasing. Preventing large-scale demolition and construction has become the theme of local urban renewal.

Statistics from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development show that in 2022, the country plans to start rebuilding 51000 old urban communities and 8.4 million households. By the end of September, 51600 old urban residential areas and 8.48 million households had been renovated, with a construction rate of 100.9% based on the number of residential areas and 101.1% based on the number of households, exceeding the annual construction plan.

Accelerate urban renewal

The implementation of urban renewal action focuses on promoting the optimization and quality improvement of urban spatial structure. For mega cities, their main tasks focus on "stock renewal" and "organic renewal".

In the first half of 2022, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chengdu and other key cities have released work plans related to urban renewal.

Among them, Guangzhou said that it would implement 123 urban renewal projects in 2022 and start the preliminary work of 101 urban renewal projects, covering four types of reconstruction projects, including old villages, old cities, old factories and old towns. From the perspective of regional distribution, Huangpu District and Panyu District have the largest project scale.

In Chengdu, up to now, all 601 old courtyard reconstruction projects in the city have been started and 116 have been completed. At the same time, the city continued to promote the organic renewal of 50 districts and launched 31 new district renewal projects. During the "Fourteenth Five Year Plan" period, 173 old districts in the old city will be renovated as a whole, and 2555 old districts will be newly renovated.

As the capital, Beijing, in the process of exploring urban renewal suitable for the characteristics of the capital, emphasizes to promote small-scale, gradual and sustainable renewal. It is worth mentioning that Beijing is also the first city in China to propose "reduced development".

It is understood that during the "Fourteenth Five Year Plan" period, Beijing will focus on 178 urban renewal key blocks, complete the application for rent refund of 10,000 bungalows (courtyards) in the core functional area of the capital and the repair of 6000 households, as well as the reconstruction of 160 million square meters of old residential areas to be reconstructed before the end of 2000.

In addition, Beijing will focus on promoting the transformation and upgrading of inefficient old buildings of about 5 million square meters, and complete the transformation and upgrading of 22 traditional business districts; We will orderly promote the renovation of 700 old plants and inefficient industrial parks.

Wang Fei, Director of the Strategic Advisory Department of Jones Lang LaSalle in North China, said that urban renewal is a good way to overcome the "urban disease" and an important mechanism for urban self-regulation. The biggest difference between Beijing's urban renewal and other cities is that it has a main line, namely four centers, which can not be separated at any time. Beijing's urban renewal policy system is not static, but constantly improved in practice. In addition, Beijing's urban renewal system is guided by the government and driven by the market, which will effectively stimulate market vitality and enhance the power of economic recovery.

In February this year, the relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development pointed out at the press conference that, according to incomplete statistics, by the end of 2021, 411 cities nationwide had implemented 23000 urban renewal projects, with a total investment of 5.3 trillion yuan. Urban renewal has not only solved the outstanding problems and weaknesses in urban development, improved people's sense of happiness and security, but also become a new economic growth point.

In the next stage, the construction of urban renewal will be promoted from seven aspects, including improving the urban system, optimizing the structural layout, improving the urban functions, controlling the bottom line of construction, improving the living quality, improving the operational efficiency, and changing the development mode.

Prevent major demolition and construction

In the process of promoting urban renewal, "preventing large demolition and construction" has become an important principle that must be followed.

In August 2021, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development issued the Notice on Preventing the Problem of Large Demolition and Construction in the Implementation of Urban Renewal Action (hereinafter referred to as the Notice), pointing out that in some places, there is a tendency to continue to use the excessive real estate development and construction method, large demolition and construction, and eager for quick success and instant benefit. Old buildings are demolished at will, residents are relocated, and old trees are felled. In a disguised way, housing prices are raised, and living costs are increased, resulting in new urban problems.

To this end, the Notice proposes that we should strictly control large-scale demolition, strictly control large-scale additional construction, strictly control large-scale relocation, retain and utilize existing buildings, maintain the scale of the old city pattern, continue the urban characteristics, explore sustainable renewal models, accelerate the complement of functional weaknesses, improve urban safety and resilience, and other urban renewal planning principles and guidelines.

It is of great concern that the Notice also sets hard targets for urban renewal, known as the "four red lines of urban renewal".

For example, in principle, the area of demolished buildings in urban renewal units (districts) or projects should not be more than 20% of the current total building area, the ratio of demolished buildings in urban renewal units (districts) or projects should not be more than 2, and the local and nearby resettlement rate of urban renewal units (districts) or project residents should not be less than 50%.

Wu Jianqin, the chief operating officer of the Investigation Business Unit of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, pointed out that preventing major demolition and construction in the implementation of the urban renewal action will effectively avoid returning to the old road of extensive urban development and construction, play an important role in preserving the architecture of a specific era, maintaining the pattern of the old city, and continuing the distinctive style of the city, which reflects the core essence of urban connotation development and high-quality development, and is an important embodiment of the further improvement of China's urban construction management level.

"Under the policy keynote of preventing large-scale demolition and construction, urban renewal will gradually enter the stage of gradual and organic renewal. The main features of this stage are regional planning, industrial empowerment, government enterprise interaction, cultural conservation and ecological wisdom." Wu Jianqin said.

The reporter noted that various regions have also made active exploration in the practice of urban renewal on how to prevent demolition and construction.

For example, Beijing has put forward that the urban renewal of Beijing should adhere to the principle of "retaining, replacing and dismantling", focusing on the preservation, utilization and upgrading. In principle, the area of buildings demolished in urban renewal units (districts) or projects should not be more than 20% of the current total building area. We should encourage classified and prudent disposal of existing buildings, and promote small-scale and gradual organic renewal and micro transformation.

Nanjing also proposed that, except for illegal buildings and those identified by professional institutions as dangerous buildings with no maintenance value, the current buildings should be demolished in a small scale and in a concentrated manner. For the buildings to be demolished, evaluation and demonstration shall be strengthened according to relevant regulations, opinions shall be solicited publicly, and approval procedures shall be strictly followed. In addition to the construction of necessary public service facilities, the construction scale of old urban areas is not increased on a large scale.

Chongqing has made it clear that the protection of all kinds of historical and cultural resources should be given top priority, the scope of protection and the necessary construction control zone should be defined, the management and control should be strictly dismantled, and large-scale demolition and construction should be prohibited, so that the people can feel the charm of culture in "daily use without being aware of it", and the key projects of protection and inheritance should be implemented.

Solve the financial problem

In fact, many urban renewal projects have strong public attributes, involving public participation, government public interest protection and other factors, so how to solve the funding problem is the focus of the industry.

The reporter noted that in order to solve the problem of urban renewal funds, many places are also actively exploring the establishment of guidance funds, attracting social capital to participate and other forms to promote the sustainable development of urban renewal.

Recently, Nanning, Guangxi, issued the Administrative Measures for Nanning Urban Renewal Fund (Draft for Comments), proposing to adopt the "mother sub fund" mode of operation, which is mainly invested in urban renewal projects listed in the urban renewal project library of Nanning.

It is reported that social capital can directly participate in investment funds, or form investment and loan linkage with urban renewal funds through loans, bonds, financial management plans, asset management products, trusts, etc. We will strive to stimulate social investment of 50 billion yuan in the field of urban renewal through the mode of mother sub fund and investment loan linkage.

Prior to this, Shanghai adopted the "guidance fund+project carrier" model to launch a city renewal fund with a total scale of 80 billion yuan. The guiding fund is RMB 10.002 billion, and the investment field will focus on urban renewal projects such as old city reconstruction, historical feature protection and rental housing in Shanghai urban area.

In 2018, the first old community reconstruction project involving social capital in Beijing will be located in Jinsong. The social capital will invest 30 million yuan in the comprehensive governance of Jinsong I and II communities. As a return on investment, the social capital will obtain the 20-year operation right of inefficient idle space in the community. This innovation practice is also known as the "Jinsong Model", which has been written into the recommendations of the Fourteenth Five Year Plan of Beijing.

On this basis, Beijing also issued the Opinions on Introducing Social Capital to Participate in the Transformation of Old Residential Quarters, which proposed that social capital can obtain the management right of public space and facilities in residential quarters through "transformation+operation+property", and provide property services and value-added services.

"Previously, domestic developers were pursuing high turnover and obtaining quick returns for short-term benefits, but this model is difficult to support long-term urban renewal projects. Because urban renewal involves government decisions, there is a strong uncertainty in time, and the approval process is more complex than general construction projects." Wang Fei pointed out.

Wang Fei believes that for urban renewal projects, developers may change their original development behavior into financial investment behavior and long-term operation behavior. Development may become a part of the whole project, and the financing ability and investment ability of long-term capital are the stronger core competitiveness.

Source: China Classics