Shandong province will intensify efforts to boost urban quality construction during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, said local authorities.

Shandong will pursue higher quality new urbanization, according to the 14th Five-Year Plan for Housing and Urban-Rural Construction that was recently released by the province.

According to the plan, the province will accelerate work on granting permanent urban residency to people from rural areas living in cities over the next five years. Increased efforts will also be made to supply public-rental housing.

The province will also speed up the establishment of a housing system with multiple types of suppliers, multiple channels for housing support, as well as encouragement for both renting and purchases.

It will launch measures to prioritize the development of public transportation, as well as improve local amenities like food markets and parking facilities with smart technologies.

Planned steps will be taken to rebuild villages in cities and old residential areas, improve supporting utilities, as well as encourage the installation of elevators in old residential buildings where conditions permit. More measures will also be taken to improve drainage pipeline networks and underground utility tunnels.

Over the next five years, the province plans to renovate 2.4 million old residential areas. It aims to complete all the transformation work of old residential areas built before 2000.

Measures will be taken to restore the ecology and improve urban environment quality. Shandong plans to build "garden cities". By 2025, the per capita green area of parks in its cities (counties) will reach 17.5 square meters, while 10,000 kilometers of urban greenways will be built.