BEIJING, Feb. 4 (Xinhua Silk Road) -- Supported by UN-Habitat, Shenzhen launched the urban index agenda, contributing a global product to urban governance. The agenda was jointly released by the Research Center for Territorial and Spatial Planning of the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Shenzhen Urban Planning & Land Resources Research Center, and the Liaowang Institute.
The Urban Index of Shenzhen (UIS), a comprehensive assessment framework designed to steer sustainable urban development, systematically distills Shenzhen's transformative growth over the past 45 years into a globally shareable knowledge framework system. Notably, the research process of the UIS has benefited from technical collaboration and intellectual support from UN-Habitat.
Currently, urban development worldwide faces dual challenges: many developed countries are grappling with long-accumulated urban issues, while many developing countries experience "growing pains" related to infrastructure, public services, and ecological preservation pressure amid rapid urbanization.
Shenzhen has risen from a remote town to a globally influential metropolis over 45 years of remarkable progress. The city's GDP reached 3.68 trillion yuan (about 527 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024, ranking 10th among global cities, while it has also taken a leading role in pursuing high-quality urban governance.
The UIS aims to summarize Shenzhen's rapid development and provide relevant and adaptable references for urban governance across the world, said Miao Ze, director of the Research Center for Territorial and Spatial Planning of the Ministry of Natural Resources, at the agenda launch event.
The six dimensions form an integrated whole, reflecting both central guiding principles and Shenzhen's practical experience in urban governance, Miao noted. The UIS offers an instructive and innovative pathway for high-quality urban development, enhancing the global relevance of China's urban governance experience, he said.
Looking ahead, Miao said efforts will be made to continuously optimize the indicator system of the UIS, promote its application in more cities worldwide, and foster international collaboration by enhancing the index's accessibility and reach.
The UIS could provide new options for global urban governance, said Shan Liang, director of the Shenzhen Urban Planning & Land Resources Research Center, noting that it reflects Shenzhen's aspiration to actively participate in and contribute to the global discourse on urban development.
Shan noted that the UIS aligns with internationally recognized statistical standards and evaluation systems to ensure global comparability, while also taking into account the practical realities of cities in developing countries. In this way, the UIS provides an adaptable reference for high-density cities, fast-growing cities, and other urban contexts.
The release of the UIS agenda is both timely and far-reaching in significance, said Sun Wei, deputy editor-in-chief of Outlook Weekly, at the agenda launch event. He noted that China's urban work is increasingly focusing on building modern, people-centered cities and setting up a scientific urban development evaluation system.
Sun added that the UIS will also serve as a global public product with a forward-looking vision, contributing a "China model" that offers both reference value and a basis for dialogue for urban civilizations worldwide.
The strategic guiding role of urban planning is a key experience in China's urban governance worthy of reference. As a model of "planning-driven urban development," Shenzhen has continuously unleashed innovative vitality against the backdrop of the Ministry of Natural Resources performing its dual-integration responsibilities and advancing the "multi-plan integration" reform. This experience has been crystallized into the UIS indicator system, said Shang Jing, deputy director and chief planner of the Research Center for Territorial and Spatial Planning of the Ministry of Natural Resources, at the agenda launch event.
Shang added that the "One Map" initiative and China spatial planning observation network (CSPON) smart planning currently being promoted by the Ministry of Natural Resources mark a new era of "digital technology empowering urban spatial governance." This establishes a strategic evolution pathway for the UIS toward smart governance.
Moreover, the core concepts of the UIS have received strong recognition from experts worldwide.
Lorenzo Barrionuevo, UN-Habitat expert, highlighted the importance of the UIS focusing more on the lived experience of citizens, ecological harmony, urban resilience, and a shared vision for cities. He believed that, by transforming indicators into actionable tools, the UIS, a "China model" for global urban governance, helps bridge the gap between urban vision and operational delivery, offering an important reference for international exchange and collaboration among cities.
Salvatore Fundarò, coordinator of the Urban Lab of the Regional Program Division at UN-Habitat, remarked at the agenda launch event that Shenzhen's current achievements are inseparable from its precise urban planning, adding that he had felt the city's vitality and uniqueness firsthand.
He emphasized that urban evaluation should look beyond GDP and instead treat dimensions such as "housing accessibility," "urban culture," and "technological innovation" as fundamental criteria. He also noted that the UIS offers significant reference value for potential megacities emerging in the Global South.
Moving beyond traditional models centered on economic indicators, the UIS adopts a people-centered evaluation perspective, focusing on residents' wellbeing, lived experience, and sense of gain and belonging.
Guided by a people-centered philosophy that emphasizes harmony between people and nature, the UIS is structured around six key dimensions: innovative, liveable, beautiful, resilient, culturally vibrant, and smart. This agenda is further elaborated through 19 secondary dimensions and 50 specific indicators with additional indicators designed to be continuously explored and updated over time.
Agendas like the UIS contribute to building a global knowledge base for urban innovation, Hugh Lim, executive director of Singapore's Centre for Liveable Cities, said at the agenda launch event in an online address. He noted that cities that thrive will be those that can measure what matters the most to their residents.
This year, based on its strong cooperation with UN-Habitat, the UIS will be introduced to the world at multiple internationally significant occasions.
In May, the UIS will be presented at the World Urban Forum (WUF) in Baku, Azerbaijan, where it will be showcased in an exhibition highlighting how housing can drive social equity, urban resilience, and sustainable development through case studies and data-driven visualizations. Following its debut in Baku, the UIS will be officially launched at the World Cities Summit in Singapore in June.
(Contributed by Chen Wenxian, edited by Duan Jing with Xinhua Silk Road, duanjing@xinhua.org)
A single purchase
