Urban China Initiative
Urban China Initiative (UCI) is a Beijing-based public-private think tank dedicated to exploring and implementing solutions to China’s urbanization challenges. It is a joint initiative led by Columbia University, the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University, and McKinsey & Company. UCI was launched in November 2010.
Mission
The stated mission of UCI is to act as a catalyst for the next horizon of China’s urbanization, and a support to China’s cities as they innovate. UCI seeks to pursue knowledge initiatives at scale and to provide fact-based, objective analyses of options available to urban leaders across an enormous variety of conditions, with the goal of unearthing solutions that can be implemented across hundreds of cities in China.
Partners and Organization
The Founding Partners of the Initiative are McKinsey & Company, Columbia University’s Global Center for East Asia, and the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University.
The Initiative also maintains strategic partnerships with the Chinese Society for Urban Studies and the Institute of Urban Environmental Studies under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Research
Urban Sustainability Index
In November 2010, UCI released the Urban Sustainability Index, the result of a five-month study evaluating the sustainability of 112 cities in China.
2011 Grants
In May 2011, UCI announced its first 8 grants to support research on urbanization issues in China. The project topics were as follows:
Using Natural and Cultural Heritage for Low-Carbon Sustainable Urban Development in Libo County, Guizhou, China
- Principal Investigator: Dr. Jyoti Hosagrahar. Director, Sustainable Urbanism International, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, Columbia University, New York City
Socio-economical Drivers for Urban Metabolisms of Hong Kong and Shenzhen
- Principal Investigator: Dr. Shi Han. Department of Public and Social Administration, City University of Hong Kong
An Alternative Design Model for Sustainable Urbanism of a Chinese Third-Tier City: Design Proposal for Gulin New Town Plan
- Principal Investigator: Richard Plunz. Director, Urban Design Lab at the Earth Institute, Columbia University, Director, Urban Design Program, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University
Bridging the gaps between zones of production and consumption: Spatial implications of industrial restructuring and residential block development in the Tumen area of Xi’an
- Principal Investigator: Dr. Xiaodong KOU, Lianhu District Urban Development Research Center
The perception of social inequality and associated action patterns of the new generation of migrant workers.
- Principal Investigators: Huang He, University of Kent; Long Shuqin, Southeast University; Yang Chunhua, Changzhou Institute of Technology; Qiu Youyun, Hangzhou Normal University
Bicycle Suitability Index Research for Chinese Cities
- Principal Investigators: Cao Nan (Urbanist); He Jianfeng (Urban Planner / Transport Policy and Planning); Sun Yili (Infrastructure Development)
The role of urban planning in sustainable housing development: The case of Hangzhou Metropolitan Area
- Principal Investigator: Jin Xue, Aalborg University, Denmark
China Dream Survey
- Principal Investigator: Peggy Liu, JUCCCE