On August 29, 2024, a technical workshop of the Integrated Urban Climate Action for Low-Carbon & Resilient Cities (Urban-Act) project was held in Beijing. The event brought together representatives from the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), GIZ, the project’s implementing partners, natural resources and planning bureaus of various cities, as well as a group of Chinese experts in the field of urban planning.
Background of the workshop
Within the scope of IKI’s Urban-Act project and in response to a request from the Territorial and Spatial Planning Bureau of MNR, a working group was established in March 2024. This group aims to elevate climate-resilient urban spatial planning through technical research and pilot demonstrations.
The working group is led by the Shanghai Urban Planning & Design Research Institute, with active participation from the China Land Surveying and Planning Institute, National Territorial and Spatial Planning and Research Center, Tongji University, natural resources and planning bureaus, as well as technical and research institutes of Jiaxing City, Xiamen City, Xi’an City, Shanghai City, Yangtze River Delta Integration Demonstration Zone, and Hebei Xiong’an New Area. Additionally, 18 senior experts across as the diverse fields of urban spatial planning, low-carbon development, resilience, energy, transportation, architecture, and resource recycling were engaged to provide guidance and advice throughout the workshop.
The workshop marked the first in-person gathering of both the working group as well as the expert group since their establishment. The Shanghai Urban Planning & Design Research Institute, serving as the team lead, kicked off the meeting by presenting the project’s overview and progress. Afterwards, presentations from each implementation institute showcased their respective achievements to date in the pilot cities and areas. Five senior experts of the expert committee then provided insightful feedback on these interim results.
Project framework and approach
Under the framework of the Urban-Act project, the working group is responsible for conducting technical research and pilot demonstrations, with both low-carbon and climate resilience aspects. The group employs a ‘divide and integrate’ strategy, fostering integration after separate development from the low-carbon and the climate-resilient aspect, with the ultimate goal of aligning them with demands under territorial and spatial planning.
Central to this approach is a comprehensive technical framework, focused on research and supported by enabling technologies. This framework includes mechanisms, technical methods, specific approaches, and the synergistic relationship between urban biodiversity conservation and climate change response. It supports both master and detailed planning, as well as evaluation efforts.
Pilot cities and regions
The project involves six pilot cities and regions, each with a unique focus.
- Shanghai (focus on low-carbon): Yangpu District Binjiang Road (City Renewal), Xinhua Road area in Changning District (Vulnerable People and Old Community Renovation), Qingpu Industrial Park (Industrial Park Renovation)
- Xi’an (focus on resilience): 11 selected units across industrial, residential, renewal, and ecological categories.
- Jiaxing (focus on low-carbon and resilience): JiaxingHigh-Speed Rail New Town Area, Jiaxing Electric Control Factory Renewal Area (Residential Community Renovation), Jiaxing Zhuxiaohui Low-Carbon Practice Area (Rural Zero-Carbon Model)
- Xiong’an (focus on resilience): Xiong’an New Area(emphasis on comprehensive and full-cycle disaster management).
- Xiamen (focus on resilience and biodiversity conservation): urban transportation infrastructure, highlighting synergies between biodiversity conservation and climate change response.
- Yangtze River Delta Integrated Development Demonstration Zone (focus on low-carbon): as the first project for near zero-carbon special planning, it includes parts of Qingpu (Shanghai City), Wujiang (Jiangsu Province), and Jiashan (Zhejiang Province).
Next steps
Leveraging expert insights, the working group will be able to accelerate progress in project implementation and distill practical project outcomes. GIZ will facilitate a knowledge-sharing and exchange platform to disseminate these findings and pilot cases to international partners.
