Promoting "housing for all" to move towards "quality housing for all"

The quality of housing is related to the happiness of countless families. The self-renovation and original demolition and reconstruction of old housing have changed the government-led model of urban renewal, alleviating the financial pressure of renovations and allowing more people to live in "good houses." Currently, China's urbanization is shifting from a period of rapid growth to a period of stable development. The theme of urban work in the current and future period is to promote high-quality urban development, with the main line being to adhere to connotative urban development and to advance urban renewal as an important focus. The "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Promoting High-Quality Urban Development," issued in August 2025, proposed to "support the self-renovation and original demolition and reconstruction of old housing." Compared to traditional methods of renovating old communities, the self-renovation and original demolition and reconstruction model for old housing is still in the exploratory stage and faces a series of new situations and problems in practice. Only by targeting the crux and providing "prescriptions" can we better meet the needs of the public. Building consensus and working hard on self-consultation. The update of old housing is challenging due to diverse demands. Some residents wish to improve but are "financially constrained"; some residents have already purchased new homes and are unwilling to spend effort on old houses; some residents hope the government will lead the demolition... The solution lies in promoting consensus through consultation. It is necessary to seek the "greatest common divisor" of public opinion and to play the guiding role of the government by building a multi-faceted consultation platform. By relying on self-renovation committees formed by residents and other forms, the willingness to update can be transformed into collective action. Facing difficulties and making efforts in funding procurement. For self-renovation, the key question is "where does the money come from?" Establishing a multi-channel investment mechanism such as "residents contribute a little, enterprises invest a little, property rights units raise a little, and government supports a little" is a beneficial exploration to break this bottleneck. Practical measures should be introduced around issues of concern to residents, such as commercial loan processing and housing provident fund withdrawals, and renovation funds should be enriched through project subsidies and the introduction of social capital to build a long-term sustainable urban renewal ecosystem. Simultaneously breaking and establishing, practical strategies should be proposed for reform and innovation. Many policies and systems formed during the past period of urban expansion are no longer suitable for the needs of development, and adjustments and optimizations should be made with a reform mindset. The original demolition and reconstruction of old housing is constrained by objective conditions, making it difficult for some existing standards and norms to be implemented; in planning permits, construction approvals, and other links, there are often practical problems such as multiple approval departments, long processes, and complex procedures. Solving these problems requires pilot testing. Adjusting building spacing, building area, and other normative requirements appropriately according to local conditions can make policies and systems more aligned with reality; promoting streamlined processes and parallel approvals can help compress timelines and improve efficiency, allowing good policies to be implemented and effective more quickly. In self-renovation and original demolition and reconstruction, residents are both active participants and direct beneficiaries. Practicing the development philosophy centered on the people will allow more people to move from "having a place to live" to "living in a quality home," injecting more vibrant vitality into the city. (Wang Yongzhan) People's Daily (March 13, 2026, Page 13)