by Mao Pengfei, Xu Ye
QUITO, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations and China jointly held a forum on Tuesday for the coming World Cities Day to promote inclusive and shared urban development during the on-going UN conference on housing and sustainable cities in Quito, Ecuador.
The forum was jointly held by UN Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat), China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and Shanghai Municipal Government, to promote the coming World Cities Day on Oct. 31, and to launch the Shanghai Manual 2016, a guide for sustainable urban development.
CHINA'S URBANIZATION ACHIEVEMENTS
Executive Director of UN-Habitat Dr. Joan Clos spoke highly of the remarkable achievements of urbanization in China and the importance of the Shanghai Manual 2016 to provide the world with a sustainable urban development experience.
"Today, China continues to push forward the urbanization process and this is something that I want to praise very much, because in the last three decades China has been unique in urbanizing hundreds of millions of people," said Clos.
The United Nations has designated every 31st of October as World Cities Day, in order to promote the international community's interest in global urbanization and push forward cooperation to address common challenges.
During the forum, China's Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Chen Zhenggao highlighted the country's achievements in urbanization and future moves to build a better life for citizens.
China's urbanization rate rose from 17.9 percent in 1978 to 56.1 percent in 2015 and 770 million Chinese people are living in cities.
Urban infrastructure construction, urban transportation, water, electricity, gas, heat and other public facilities have significantly improved, said Chen.
"The city is the center of human economic and social development, and a symbol of modern civilization. Rapid urbanization brought us better material and cultural lives, but it also brought traffic jams, housing insufficiency, pollution, a shortage of resources, a widening gap between rich and poor, cultural conflicts and other issues," said Chen. "Those have become the common challenges for the international community and the solution is sustainable urbanization."
SHANGHAI MANUAL PROMOTES INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT
The Shanghai Manual 2016, a guide for sustainable urban development in the 21st century, was officially launched at the forum to promote an inclusive and shared urban development.
Five years have passed since the manual was first published during the Shanghai Expo 2010, said Dr. Clos in the preface of the manual.
"It was aimed at the outset to support mayors and urban managers as they try to foster sustainable urban development in their communities, and it has proven to be an essential reference, much due to the position of cities in their role at the forefront of finding and testing new development solutions," said Dr. Clos.
Initiated by the Chinese government, the 2016 version of the manual was jointly compiled and published by the United Nations, Bureau International des Expositions (the organization in charge of managing the World Expos), the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of the People's Republic of China and the Shanghai Municipal Government in time for World Cities Day and to promote good ideas for urban development.
"With examples from cities around the world, the manual provided detailed case studies including problems and solutions, and summarized sustainable development experiences. It is an important contribution to the global urban development," said Sun Jiwei, deputy secretary general of the Shanghai government.
"The updating of the manual is an imperative task, which aligns with our initial vision of the Shanghai Manual as a living document, to be continuously revised and improved while incorporating new and emerging models and approaches based on lessons learned and urban solutions applied in different parts of the world," said Clos.
This manual focuses on inclusive cities, innovations and low carbon solutions, creative and livable cities, as well as improving all aspects of urban governance.
"I realize that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to urban problems," said the head of UN-Habitat, "but the manual certainly helps us in discussing the realities of our shared challenges and work towards practical solutions."
