China Issues the Guideline for National Territorial Planning Policy on Urban Village Renovation (Part 3)

▲ Urban village in Tianhe District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province. [People's Daily Online/ Wang Yadie]

3. Integrating Urban Village Renovation Requirements into Territorial Planning.

3.2 Refining territorial management requirements at the detailed planning level.

(2) Detailed planning of the planning unit specifies the planning requirements.

Detailed planning for implementation units should be dynamically formulated in conjunction with the implementation schedule. It serves as the legal basis for specifying planning conditions for urban village renovation projects and issuing planning permits (including design plans). If the detailed planning for “planning units” and “implementation units” is integrated and formulated together, it should meet the requirements for “implementation units” to serve as the legal basis. The preparation should emphasize the following aspects:

· Dividing reasonable land plots.

Based on investigation and evaluation, and considering resource assets and land ownership information, delineate the scope of implementation land plots reasonably, taking into account the renovation methods.

· Promoting land reorganization.

Integrate existing construction land through methods such as land expropriation, land exchange, redevelopment, land acquisition, and mixed renovation. Expansion to adjacent inefficient land may also be considered to promote large-scale renovation.

· Refining control and guidance.

Determine the primary function of the implementation unit, refine the control and guidance requirements for planning units, and apply these to the land plots. Specify the land use, development intensity (e.g., floor area ratio, building density), green space ratio, building height controls, facility provision, and affordable housing requirements.

· Defining implementation strategies.

Coordinate the interests and demands of various stakeholders, while considering project implementation mechanisms and market demand, and develop appropriate planning and land strategies.

· Dynamic Maintenance and Optimization.

While adhering to the rigid control requirements of higher-level planning, all localities can dynamically maintain the detailed planning of planning units and implementation units through technical adjustments or optimizations based on local conditions.

3.3 Key points for planning review.

When reviewing the detailed planning involving urban village renovation units, in addition to the regular review points, all localities should consider the following aspects.

(1) Implementation status of the overall territorial planning. Ensure that the relevant special planning such as the renovation planning aligns with the overall territorial planning.

(2) Determination basis of planning indicators. Verify that planning indicators are determined based on assessments of resource and environmental carrying capacity, as well as the capacity of public service facilities and infrastructure.

(3) Check whether the implementation strategy complies with relevant land policies. For cases involving land exchange or reorganization, ensure that preliminary consent has been obtained from the relevant right holders.

(4) Confirm that strategies for the protection and utilization of historical and cultural resources, as well as ancient and famous trees, have been approved by experts and relevant authorities.

(5) Ensure that the positive and negative lists guarantee and maintain public safety and legitimate rights and interests.

4. Improving Policy Support for Urban Village Renovation Implementation.

Establish supporting mechanisms for urban village renovation and promote effective implementation.

4.1 Strengthen the efforts of government coordination and make good use of relevant policies.

Fully leverage the leading role of the government and strengthen primary responsibility. Prioritize the renovation of urban core areas and urban villages with significant safety risks to ensure the effective implementation of urban strategic intent.

Adhere to legal and regulatory requirements, ensure fairness and justice, and uphold the bottom lines and red lines. Make full use of related policies such as the redevelopment of low utility land and comprehensive land management, implementing urban village renovation in a categorized manner. Promote mixed land development and composite use of space.

4.2 Explore innovative policy incentives and protect the rights and interests of relevant stakeholders.

Encourage local adaptation of policies based on specific urban conditions. Explore innovations in land mixed-use development, composite space utilization, optimization of approved floor area ratio, cross-space unit coordination, and operational strategies for stock assets to foster a positive interaction between planning controls and market incentives.

Ensure the protection of legitimate rights and interests of villagers. Prioritize preliminary work such as soliciting willingness, industry relocation, proper placement of residents, historical and cultural conservation, and securing compensation and relocation funds. And improve the villagers’ original living standards.

4.3 Fully utilize social comprehensive governance power.

Adhere to an open planning approach by actively soliciting public participation, coordinating consultations, and planning publicity for urban village renovation. Encourage and guide market forces to undertake gradual renovations. Relying on grass-roots organizations such as subdistricts and communities to establish diverse platforms for negotiation and collaborative governance.

5. Strengthening Planning Implementation Supervision.

5.1 Build a digital management system.

Make full use of various data resources and deepen the application of digital technologies such as big data and AI. In the construction of the national territorial planning implementation monitoring network, integrate data such as real-world 3D models, video surveillance, basic equipment, etc. to explore the creation of digital management scenarios. Improve community governance infrastructure, and assist in the digital and refined management of urban villages.

5.2 Strengthen tracking and guidance.

Ensure effective integration with all levels and types of territorial planning. Incorporate relevant planning results into the “one map” implementation supervision information system for territorial planning at the municipal and district (county, city) levels according to procedures, and use this system as a basis for evaluating implementation effectiveness.

Source：

<https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/202407/content_6964732.htm>

Editor & Translator: GUO Xinxin