📰 What Happened: In a rare public announcement, China’s Central Urban Work Conference is calling for developers to focus on improving urban quality of life rather than continuing to expand outwards. Chinese officials emphasized enhancing the quality of urban living and boosting efficiency, such as by renovating urban villages or improving dilapidated housing.

🔍 A Closer Look: With 67% of its population in urban areas, China has finally entered a phase of stable urban growth—a huge departure from its decades-long, headline-making urbanization. The government aims to prioritize integrated city clusters, build fewer super-tall developments, and help migrant workers secure urban citizenship benefits.

🧠 Why It Matters: China’s new urban development direction reflects its post-pandemic real estate crisis, triggered by the collapse of Chinese developer Evergrande. Politics aside, this marks a seismic shift in the nation’s urban development strategy. The world will be watching closely to see how foreign and domestic developers respond.