Megacity Think Tank Alliance releases Beijing Initiative

The Megacity Think Tank Alliance released the Beijing Initiative at its 10th General Assembly and Forum, held on Oct 22 and 23 in Beijing Municipal Administrative Center under the theme “Embracing the Future: Collaborative Development and Governance Transformation of Global Cities”. The event marked the first time Beijing had hosted the gathering in 11 years.

The initiative sets out six commitments: embracing the future through collaborative research; advancing climate resilience and a just transition; building people-centered cities; using data, digital technologies and artificial intelligence for the public good; bridging science and policy; and strengthening the alliance. Representatives of member institutions pledged to put the commitments into practice.

Hosted by Beijing Municipal Institute of City Planning and Design(BMICPD), the event brought together experts and scholars from 17 member institutions and several observer organizations worldwide. Presentations and roundtable discussions focused on three themes: urban development transformation in response to climate change, the reshaping of urban space by AI, urban regeneration and governance improvement.

“For Beijing, the past decade has been one of development with reduced input, improving quality and pursuing transformation,” said Shi Xiaodong, president of BMICPD, in his opening address. “As we implement the Master Plan of Development for Beijing (2016-2035) , we have steadily relocated functions nonessential to Beijing’s role as the capital, promoted coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and continued to optimize the city’s spatial layout.”

“Sustainable regeneration goes beyond infrastructure — it requires safeguarding sociocultural heritage, empowering local communities and creating inclusive public spaces for future generations,” Shahbaz Khan, the director of the Regional Office for East Asia at UNESCO, said in a video message.

The urban regeneration forum examined how to improve public services in existing neighborhoods and reconcile the needs of different stakeholders. Shanghai Urban Planning and Design Research Institute shared strategies covering the full urban regeneration process, while BMICPD presented a crowdfunding approach to the regeneration of Nanbeixiaojie Street in Chaoyangmen area. Institutions from Paris, Seoul and Singapore discussed cooperation across administrative boundaries, waterfront development and neighborhood access to health and care services, and the use of urban spaces at different times of day.

These discussions echoed planning reforms that Beijing is pursuing this year. In July, the city issued guidelines on reforming the management of block-level regulatory plans to support urban regeneration. The guidelines call for coordinating resources and projects at the planning-block level, focusing regeneration in existing urban areas on the public environment, public spaces and public services, and identifying needs through consultation with residents, communities and businesses. They also propose using idle land and vacated sites to provide more facilities for elderly people and children.

At the climate change forum, Urban Planning and Design Institute of Shenzhen presented planning practices aimed at reducing carbon emissions in a high-density megacity. The Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies discussed using blue-green infrastructure to reduce urban flood risks, while BMICPD explored ways to integrate renewable energy into territorial spatial planning.

The AI forum covered planning tools, public services and data sharing. Malaysian Institute of Planners outlined work on an AI implementation framework for the planning profession. Busan Development Institute shared its experience of using AI to handle citizens’ complaints, while Korea Research Institute for Local Administration examined how data integration can strengthen public-private cooperation and help communities facing population decline.

Founded in 2014, MeTTA was jointly initiated by the Seoul Institute, Beijing Municipal Institute of City Planning and Design, Singapore Centre for Liveable Cities, Shanghai Urban Planning and Design Research Institute and Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies.