The Urban China Initiative

China's urbanization over the last twenty years has been a success. Since 1990, China's cities have grown by 380 million people, while per capita urban GDP has grown five times. China's leaders have recently called for a structural adjustment to China's growth model. This adjustment is needed if China's cities are to surmount two intertwined challenges: the scale of China's urbanization, and with it the pressures of social change and resources; and the need to meet the rising aspirations of China's citizens. While there is no shortage of technologies and initiatives available for tackling these challenges, there is a significant gap between knowing what is needed and knowing how to implement the solutions. A new think-tank has been established with the express mission of finding and implementing effective solutions to China's urbanization challenge: The Urban China Initiative. To fulfill its mission, the Initiative has three specific aims: ƒ Solutions – Be the source of the best and most innovative solutions to urban development issues in China. ƒ Talent – Be a home for China's leading domestic and international urban thinkers and professionals, and a magnet for the best global thinkers ƒ Dialogue – Be the convenor of China's leading national, provincial and local dialogues on urban issues By combining these aims, the Initiative will also pursue knowledge initiatives with the goal of developing solutions that can be applied across hundreds of cities in China. The Urban Sustainability Index (USI), the first-ever index for measuring and comparing urban sustainability across China is an example of the type of research that the Initiative will undertake.