With the continuous acceleration of the urbanization process, the problem of the construction and renewal of central cities has gradually become prominent. On July 7, 2021, the Guangzhou Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau officially issued the "Guangzhou Urban Renewal Regulations (Draft for Comment)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Draft for Comment") for public consultation.

Chapter 8 Article 53 Involving 6 highlights

Since 2009, Guangzhou has carried out many years of urban renewal work practice and achieved a series of results, and the urban renewal policy system has been continuously improved. The Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government have implemented the important instructions of General Secretary Jin Ping on Guangzhou’s realization of “the new vitality of the old city” and the “four new brilliance”, and the Fifth Plenary Session of the Nineteenth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Central Economic Work Conference’s “Implementation The major decision of “Urban Renewal Action” proposed in 2019 to coordinate and promote nine key tasks of urban renewal. In 2020, urban renewal will be listed as one of the “dual engines” for promoting the development of Guangzhou City, constructing a deepening of urban renewal and promoting high-quality development. The “1+1+N” policy system has given urban renewal a more important mission.

In order to further promote the organic, orderly and effective development of urban renewal, we summarized and refined the urban renewal regulations and policies that have been effective in Guangzhou for more than a decade and upgraded them to local regulations, and used rule of law thinking and methods to solve the pain points and difficulties in urban renewal work. To solve the problem of blockage, the Standing Committee of the Municipal People's Congress has included the "Regulations on Urban Renewal of Guangzhou City" in the 2021 legislative work plan.

According to the legislative plan, the Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau will take the lead in launching the "Guangzhou Urban Renewal Regulations" legislation in conjunction with the Municipal Justice Bureau, the Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau and other departments from February 2021. After multiple rounds of consultations with relevant departments and districts The opinions of the people’s government and expert demonstration meetings were held. After extensively listening to the opinions of representatives of the People’s Congress, members of the CPPCC, enterprises, and towns (streets) and villages, the "Draft for Solicitation of Opinions" was formed. There are 8 chapters and 53 articles, and the main highlights include 6 aspect:

Implement the central government's major decision and deployment on "Implementing Urban Renewal Action"

It is proposed that urban renewal should implement the new development concept, strengthen the system concept, full life cycle management, promote the continuous renewal, and adhere to the basic principles of government overall planning, multi-party participation, planning guidance, systematic order, priority of people's livelihood, common governance and sharing.

It is proposed that the overall goal of urban renewal is to build livable cities, green cities, resilient cities, smart cities, and humane cities, continuously improve the quality of urban human settlements, strengthen urban functions, optimize spatial layout, promote ecological civilization, protect historical culture, and realize production. City integration, job-living balance, cultural heritage, ecological livability, convenient transportation, and convenient life.

Promote the protection and activation of historical culture

In order to resolutely implement the important instructions of the central government to implement urban renewal actions and build a humane city, the "Draft for Solicitation of Comments" emphasizes that historical and cultural protection should always be given top priority in urban renewal, and to promote the activation and utilization of historical and cultural resources.

It is stipulated that if urban renewal involves historical and cultural heritage, the protection and preservation objects shall be protected in accordance with the approved protection plan and relevant laws and regulations.

Urban renewal projects that contribute to historical and cultural protection under the conditions that can be carried by the plan can be rewarded with floor area ratio in accordance with relevant policies.

Encourage immovable cultural relics and historical buildings to introduce functions such as libraries, museums, art galleries, bookstores, and non-genetic heritage sites, and take measures to encourage the activation and utilization of state-owned historical buildings.

It can be implemented through a combination of urban renewal projects to solve the funding problem for the continuous protection of historical and cultural heritage, and emphasize that the protection and activation of historical and cultural heritage should be given priority.

Improve public service supply capacity

Through continuous update, improve regional supporting facilities, strengthen facility shortcomings, optimize facility standards, configure high-standard public service facilities, and rationally improve municipal infrastructure.

In the implementation sequence, it is proposed that public service facilities and municipal infrastructure should be constructed first, and handed over for use as a priority.

Encourage the integration and use of space resources such as available open space within and around the micro-renovation project, demolishing illegal construction vacated land and other space resources, giving priority to increasing green space, open space, installing elevators, and building public service facilities; encouraging the use of land used by administrative institutions and state-owned enterprises, Public service facilities shall be added to the occupied houses (including public houses).

Under the condition that the plan can bear the load, for the land used for public service facilities beyond the regulations, the floor area ratio rewards may be given in accordance with the regulations.

Provide high-quality industrial development space

It is proposed to take the national economic and social development planning, land and space planning as the guide, accurately allocate space resources, and provide high-quality industrial development space. Promote the integration of industry and city through urban renewal, and rationally plan the proportion of industrial development and construction volume. Encourage micro-reconstruction projects to provide industrial space for urban development, in line with regional development orientation, and allow compatibility of land use nature and transformation of building use functions.

Strengthen the protection of the rights and interests of multiple parties

The "Draft for Solicitation of Comments" interprets the fundamental purpose of serving the people with the implementation of urban renewal actions, and sets up a special chapter on rights and interests protection to make detailed provisions for the rights and interests of village collectives, villagers, residents, and interested parties to protect their legitimate rights and interests and unblock opinions. Expression channels, and properly handle the interests of the masses.

It is proposed that urban renewal should increase the construction and supply of public rental housing, shared property housing and other affordable housing through multi-subject supply, multi-channel guarantee, and simultaneous rental and purchase, and guide collective construction land to build collective dormitory and other rental housing in accordance with the plan, and effectively improve the housing of the people. The conditions are to realize that there is a place to live and a place to live.

Carry out the relocation and resettlement of the city in an orderly manner to ensure that the resettlement is in place. In order to properly resettle the right subjects in the reconstruction area, strengthen supervision through the supervision of rehabilitation resettlement funds, and the filing of relocation compensation agreements, and it is stipulated that the rehabilitation and resettlement houses must be constructed first and put into use first. At the same time, in order to ensure that the interests of the majority of people are protected, the "Draft for Solicitation of Comments" designs relevant systems to incorporate dispute resolution methods into the track of the rule of law.

Increase support for urban renewal and micro-renovation

In view of the difficulties in the approval and approval of micro-reconstruction projects and the difficulty in fund-raising, project portfolio implementation can be used to solve the funding problems for the renovation of old communities, and the implementation of old community reconstruction projects should be given priority to improve the quality of life of residents and make up for shortcomings in people's livelihood. Involving the conversion of land use and building functions, management shall be carried out through the formulation of positive and negative lists. Encourage micro-renovation projects to implement energy-saving renovations to improve the green and low-carbon level of buildings, and use renewable energy technologies to carry out green renovations. Editor/Xu Shengpeng