21st Biweekly Policy Analysis Meeting: Accelerating the Development of a Modern People-Oriented City and Advancing High-Quality Urban Development

On September 5, 2025, the 21st Biweekly Policy Analysis Meeting, themed “Accelerating the Development of a Modern People-Oriented City and Advancing High-Quality Urban Development”, was held. The event was hosted by the National Academy of Development and Strategy (NADS) at Renmin University of China, and organized by the Institute of Macroeconomic Governance, the Urban Regeneration Research Center, and the Digital Governance and Digital Economy Research Center, all under NADS. The meeting was chaired by XIAO Chaowei, Associate Professor at NADS and Deputy Director of the Urban Regeneration Research Center. Experts and representatives from academia, government sectors, and industry participated in in-depth discussions.

Experts at the meeting generally agreed that China’s urban development is currently at a critical stage of transformation, shifting from extensive expansion toward improving quality and efficiency. The essence of a People-Oriented City lies in putting people at the center and responding to citizens’ aspirations for a better life. However, challenges remain in urban regeneration practices, including difficulties in coordinating diverse interests, insufficient financing, and lagging institutional adaptation. Some policy documents have shown an excessive focus on technical aspects during implementation, failing to fully address the needs for lifestyle improvement and social governance. While finance, industry, and data have provided new forms of support, they have yet to form a strong synergy. A more solid bridge is also needed between academic research and policy practice.

Looking ahead, the development of People-Oriented Cities should focus on the following five areas:

Promoting institutional innovation: driving reforms in land and property rights systems based on the needs of urban renewal;

Improving risk-sharing and benefit-distribution mechanisms: stimulating the vitality of social capital;

Leveraging data: advancing urban renewal and institutional design;

Enhancing lifestyles and improving public services: responding to people’s aspirations for a better life;

Strengthening the linkage between academic research and policy practice: providing solid intellectual and institutional support for building People-Oriented Cities.

(The above views are compiled from the statements made by participants at the 21st Biweekly Policy Analysis Meeting held on September 5, 2025. It is intended solely for academic exchange and does not represent the views of the National Academy of Development and Strategy, Renmin University of China.)

Proofreaders: XIAO Chaowei, ZOU Jingxian

Translator: ZHANG Yuqing

Web Editor: ZHANG Jingjing