Promoting "Secure Housing" Towards " Comfortable and Quality Housing"

Source: People’s Daily

Housing quality affects the happiness of thousands of families. Autonomous renovation of old houses, original demolition and reconstruction, has changed the government-led old renovation model, alleviating funding pressures and allowing more people to live in “good houses.”

Currently, China’s urbanization is shifting from rapid growth to steady development. The current and future urban work focuses on promoting high-quality urban development, with an emphasis on connotative growth and advancing urban renewal as key strategies. The “Opinions on Promoting High-Quality Urban Development” issued in August 2025 by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council support autonomous renovation of old houses and original demolition and reconstruction.

Compared to traditional renovation methods of old neighborhoods, the autonomous renovation and original demolition and reconstruction model is still in the exploratory stage, facing a series of new situations and problems in practice. Only by targeting the core issues and finding “cures” can we better meet the needs of the people.

Build consensus through autonomous consultation. Renovating old houses is challenging due to diverse demands. Some residents desire improvements but lack funds; some have purchased new homes and are unwilling to bother with old houses; others hope the government will lead demolition… The solution lies in promoting consensus through consultation. We need to seek the “greatest common divisor” of public opinion, leverage government guidance, and build diverse consultation platforms. Using forms such as residents’ autonomous renovation committees, we can transform renovation intentions into collective action.

Address difficulties by innovating funding mechanisms. The key question in autonomous renovation is “where does the money come from?” Establishing multi-channel investment mechanisms—such as residents contributing a little, enterprises investing a little, property rights units contributing a little, and government support—are effective explorations to break this bottleneck. Practical measures like facilitating commercial loans, housing provident fund withdrawals, and supplementing renovation funds through project grants and social capital introduction are necessary to build a long-term sustainable urban renewal ecosystem.

Combine reform and innovation with practical strategies. Many policies and systems established during the period of urban expansion are no longer suitable for current needs and require reform and optimization. Due to objective conditions, some existing standards and norms for original demolition and reconstruction are difficult to implement; issues such as multiple approval departments, lengthy processes, and complex procedures often arise in planning permits and construction approvals. Solving these problems requires pilot initiatives. Adjusting standards for building spacing and area according to local conditions can make policies more practical; streamlining procedures and parallel approvals can reduce time and improve efficiency, enabling good policies to be implemented more quickly.

In autonomous renovation and original demolition and reconstruction, residents are both active participants and direct beneficiaries. Practicing people-centered development allows more people to move from “having a place to live” to “living in a quality home,” injecting greater vitality into cities. (Wang Yongzhan)

People’s Daily (Page 13, March 13, 2026)