Following the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress, and General Secretary Xi’s important concept of “cities by and for the people”, and with a view to advancing the high-quality construction of the core area of Beijing, on February 22, Zhang Wei, Secretary of the Party Group and Director General of Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources, visited the Beijing Municipal Institute of City Planning & Design (“Institute” hereinafter) for a thematic research on mega-city governance and the renovation of the west side building of Retirees Activity Center. Yang Jun, Member of the Party Group and Deputy Director General of the Commission, Shi Xiaodong, Member of the Party Group and Party Secretary of the Institute sat down with representatives of the Detailed Planning Division, and Homedale Urban Planning & Architects Co., Ltd. as well as relevant departments of the Institute.

Drawing on the experience of mega-city governance, the Detailed Planning Division outlined Shanghai’s advanced experience in urban renewal policy systems, pilot programs, and the joint design empowerment approach. Additionally, the Detailed Planning Division shared Beijing’s experiences in planning and land policy innovation, regional renewal pilots, renewal quality improvement, and the incorporation of urban village in various efforts. The Renewal Division of the Institute provided updates on the modification of report materials submitted to city leaders, with a focus on Shanghai’s key practices and lessons learned from Beijing’s experiences in promoting mega-city governance. Following these updates, Comrade Zhang outlined four requirements: First, aligne with Shanghai’s “five-coordination” principle to advance mega-city governance across policy, spatial, execution, resource, and force pooling. Second, enhance public understanding of planning to bolster governance capacity at the grassroots, with an emphasis on design execution and empowerment. Third, recognize that urban renewal is both continuous and protective, hence the overall positioning of Beijing and the requirement of restrictive development must be followed. Lastly, acknowledge developmental disparities between Beijing and Shanghai, and leverage Beijing’s research capability in policy making and planning innovation.

Regarding the renovation of the west side building of the Retirees Activity Center, Homedale Urban Planning & Architects Co., Ltd.  introduced the project plan, emphasizing the garden-city concepts, aging-friendly spaces, accessibility, green and low-carbon development. Following the representation, Zhang Wei underscored two requirements: First, proactively create public and community service spaces and demonstrate no-boundary, open, shared, and community-friendly indoor/outdoor spaces through design empowerment; Second, leverage the project as a platform to mobilize strengths from multiple channels, coordinate with urban street spaces for refined design and construction, and practice the concepts of “garden-city, green and low-carbon, aging-friendly, and barrier-free” with a view to achieving high-quality urban renewal in Beijing’s functional core area.