On November 2, “2022 Forum on High-Quality Construction of Urban Environment” and “2022 3rd Shanghai International Forum of Urban Furniture”, co-sponsored by Donghua University, Shanghai Office of Leading Group on Urban Management Refinement and China Association for Standardization, was held in Shanghai. Yu Jianyong, President of Donghua University and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, attended the forum and gave an opening speech. Chen Nanliang, Vice President of Donghua University, presided over the opening ceremony.
As one of the forums of the 2022 World Cities Day Global Observance and 2nd SDG Cities Global Conference, the theme of this forum was “Innovation, Standard and Refinement”. The Yangtze River Delta Urban Environment Refinement Construction Research Center and Urban Furniture Certification Association were inaugurated at the meeting. The Shanghai Declaration of Making the City Home was released simultaneously.
(2022 Forum on High-Quality Construction of Urban Environment in Progress)
President Yu Jianyong stated that high-quality development is the priority of building China into a modern socialist country. It is necessary to implement the people-centred philosophy of development in the high-quality construction of urban environments to improve people’s sense of happiness, fulfillment and security. He pointed out that Donghua University has always paid attention to the spillover effect of advanced disciplines and basic research, insisted on taking discipline construction as the core, and actively contributed Donghua’s wisdom and power to local and national economic and social development. He hoped that through this forum, the insights of experts and professionals would further promote the high-quality development of China’s urban construction and make more remarkable contributions to turning Shanghai into a prosperous cosmopolis and the Beautiful China initiative, as well as the SDGs of the world cities.
(Yu Jianyong Delivering a Speech)
“Making the city home is our hope. We emphasize history, culture, creativity and art in constructing urban homes, environments and furniture.” With the theme of “Making the City Home”, the Shanghai Declaration was initiated by the Donghua University Environmental Art Design Research Institute, the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University and the Centre for Art, Design & Innovation, Central Academy of Fine Arts, with 49 nationally renowned experts and scholars and 24 universities with world-class design discipline as the first initiators and initiating units. The Declaration addressed the drawbacks of urbanization, put forward a profound summary and reflection on the current situation of China’s urban environment construction development, and proposed innovative advocacy and propositions for future development concepts with humans as the starting point.
(Launch of the Shanghai Declaration and Signing Ceremony of Sponsors)
The Yangtze River Delta Urban Environment Refinement Construction Research Center and Urban Furniture Certification Association were inaugurated at the forum. The Center was jointly established by Donghua University and the Shanghai Office of Leading Group on Urban Management Refinement, a research platform and service institution for construction and management in Shanghai. It aims to open scientific research on urban environment refinement construction in the Yangtze River Delta. The Association is China’s first urban furniture certification association, founded by several influential industry organizations. Its establishment is an innovative move in the evaluation and certification of urban furniture, which will fill the gap in urban furniture certification at home and abroad. It symbolizes high-quality development in the new era. It is one of the initiatives to improve China’s development strategy, support the high-quality construction of China’s urban environment and link up with international rules.
(Inauguration of the Yangtze River Delta Urban Environment Refinement Construction Research Center)
(Inauguration of the Urban Furniture Certification Association)
At the forum, nearly one hundred authoritative experts and scholars from domestic and foreign urban planning, design, construction, management and other fields, as well as representatives of enterprises and institutions, gathered to launch a discussion online and offline. Around the theme of World Cities Day 2022 and the direction of high-quality development and construction of Chinese cities, they brainstormed and aired their opinions, promoting the Chinese experience and solutions for high-quality, refined and standardized construction of urban environments globally.
“China’s urban green-oriented transition strategy is an essential technical basis for achieving cities’ green-oriented transition. It’s an important means to promote green and low-carbon circular development and build an ecological civilization, and effective technical support to accelerate the formation of industrial structure, production mode and lifestyle that conserve resources and protect the environment.” Yu Xinli, Chairperson of the China Association for Standardization, proposed the layout of China’s urban green-oriented transition strategy according to China’s national conditions and carbon peak and neutrality targets.
“The purpose of urban regeneration is beautifying the landscape, and refined construction facilitates infrastructure. Only by highly integrating the two, focusing on improving the level of urban refinement management, effectively enhancing the work abilities, can the work be implemented well, and the people live a better life and feel happier in the city.” Zhang Zhenghong, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and General Manager of China Construction Eighth Engineering Division Corp., Ltd., stated. He focused on the thinking and practice of urban refinement construction in the context of urban regeneration through various practice cases of large, medium and small cities.
Prof. Bao Shidu, Dean of Donghua University Environmental Art Design Research Institute and Chairman of the China Association for Standardization Urban Furniture Branch, put forward six general principles for urban environmental renewal. “How to build a beautiful urban environment? The six principles of “thorough, accessible, orderly, peaceful, tranquil and bright” are the root. To seize the important and difficult points in urban environmental space renewal and transformation, effectively achieve high-quality environmental renewal with a low price suitable to local conditions, and establish a beautiful city as warm, harmonious and comfortable as home.”
（Roundtable Meeting)
As the organizer of this forum, Donghua University is one of the first universities in China to conduct research in urban environmental design and construction. It has been deeply engaged in the urban environment and furniture field for many years, achieving fruitful systematic results. It created the theoretical system of environmental art design in China, led the development of China’s first group standard and national standard for urban furniture, and established a certification system for urban furniture. It also held many high-level international conferences and forums and set up models of urban furniture standardization in China. Donghua University will continue to serve local and China’s strategic needs actively, grow with the construction of Shanghai, the city of design and fashion, and contribute its wisdom and power to make life better and China more beautiful.