In order to further implement the Mid and Long-term Youth Development Plan (2016-2025), 17 National Departments and Commissions issued the Opinions on Conducting Pilot Construction of Youth Development-Oriented Cities (hereafter referred as "Opinions").
It is understood that the youth development-oriented city refers to the urban development approach of solidly promoting the new urbanization strategy that is people-centred, actively practicing the concept of "youth first" development, optimizing the policy environment and social environment to better meet the diversified and multi-level development needs of youth, and mutually stimulating the innovative and creative vitality of youth and the city, and mutually promoting the high-quality development of youth and the city.
The Opinion points out that, through the pilot experience, establish a relatively sound urban youth development planning mechanism by 2025, the concept of youth priority development is widely recognized by society, youth development-oriented city evaluation system is gradually established and improved, urban youth development policies are more systematic and more inclusive, the initiative and contribution of youths' participation in urban development is significantly enhanced.
The Opinion will focus on optimizing the youth-first development of youth development-oriented urban planning environment. Promote the concept of youth-first development into the city development strategy, reflect the elements and pay attention to youth characteristics in the whole city planning, construction, management process to create a city image rich in youth characteristics. Include youth development into the region's national economic and social development planning, and strengthen the linkage and coordination with sector planning. Establish and improve the mechanism of the joint meeting of youth work, give full play to the role of strategic research, policy coordination, project implementation, supervision and implementation in the field of youth development. Encourage cities with conditions to develop special planning for youth development in the region.
In particular, the Opinion proposes to optimize the fair and high-quality education environment. Increase the investment in fundamental education, improve the system of nearby schooling without examination, consolidate the results of controlling dropouts and ensuring schooling, gradually provide same schooling as local residents for the children of migrants, so that young people in compulsory education have a fair opportunity to receive education.
The Opinions emphasizes efforts to optimize the protection of youth basic housing needs in a youth development-oriented urban living environment. Accelerate the improvement of public rental housing, affordable rental housing and shared ownership housing as the main body of subsidized housing system, ensure public rental housing work, increase the supply of affordable rental housing, mainly using collective commercial construction land, enterprises and institutions own idle land, industrial parks supporting land and stock of unused housing to supply, supply state-owned construction to ensure the supply of affordable housing when appropriate. Strengthen the government's policies in land supply, financial support and monetary support, give full play to the role of the market mechanism, and actively solve the housing difficulties of new migrants and young people, etc. Develop shared ownership housing in accordance with local conditions. Improve long-term rental housing policies, strengthen the supervision of asset-light housing rental enterprises, support the development of asset-heavy housing rental enterprises, standardize housing rental agent services, effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of tenants, and gradually make renters and property owners share the same rights in terms of access to public services. Encourage households, enterprises and institutions to utilize unused housing to provide rental housing, to effectively activate the stock of housing resources. Promote short-term residential services. Strengthen the construction of complete communities.
At the same time, the Opinions also proposed to improve the public service system for youth employment. With a focus on college graduates, new generation of migrant workers, unemployed youth, etc., expand employment capacity, strengthen employment guidance and vocational skills training. Actively assist young people to achieve knowledge updating, skills upgrading, and to provide more high-quality employment opportunities for young people.
Sources: <https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/8V3tcWS1anXk0XEmfI3xFA>
Edited and translated by Fan Junyi
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