Urban lifelines are crucial engineering systems that ensure the smooth operation of a city, encompassing gas, water supply, drainage, transportation, communication, power supply, bridges, and other areas. Their safe operation significantly impacts urban areas. With the emergence and development of advanced technologies such as smart sensors, wireless communication, big data, and artificial intelligence, new opportunities arise. There is an urgent need for digital and intelligent upgrades to enhance urban resilience against major disasters and ensure service safety and disaster resistance.
Recently, Ni Hong, the Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, stated that based on the in-depth advancement of pilot projects and the generalization of replicable experiences, China will fully initiate the Urban Infrastructure Lifeline Safety Project. This includes conducting a comprehensive survey of urban infrastructure, establishing a database covering both aboveground and underground urban infrastructure, identifying risk sources and points within urban infrastructure, and compiling a list of urban safety risks.
To date, lifeline safety projects in 19 cities, including Beijing and Shenzhen, are operational, with projects in 21 cities, including Shanghai and Changchun, being implemented. Let's delve into China's policies on urban lifelines.
National Level | Policy Support
January 2018: The General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued "Opinions on Promoting the Safe Development of Cities," advocating for the advancement of urban lifeline projects and the active development and application of advanced safety technologies and products in risk prevention and control, disaster mitigation, prediction and early warning, monitoring and surveillance, individual protection, emergency response, and earthquake-resistant engineering.
November 2019: The Office of the State Council Safety Committee formulated the "National Safe Development Model City Evaluation Guidelines (2019 Edition)," emphasizing the integration of general urban planning with disaster prevention and mitigation; the guidelines include developing comprehensive disaster mitigation plans, safety production plans, earthquake mitigation plans, geological disaster prevention plans, flood prevention plans, occupational disease prevention plans, fire safety plans, road traffic safety management plans, and drainage and flood prevention plans, along with expert review and mid-term evaluation of these plans.
September 2021: The Office of the State Council Safety Committee issued the "Guidelines for the Construction of Urban Safety Risk Comprehensive Monitoring and Early Warning Platforms (Trial)" (An Wei Ban Han [2021] No. 45), summarizing the safety status and common problems of various cities and incorporating the successful experiences of cities like Shanghai, Nanjing, and Shenzhen in safety risk monitoring and early warning. The guidelines aim to be forward-looking, practical, and operational, clarifying the construction content of urban safety risk monitoring and early warning platforms and the requirements for supporting mechanisms, emphasizing government leadership and departmental collaboration to continuously improve urban safety risk monitoring, early warning, and emergency response capabilities.
October 2022: The State Council Safety Production Committee and the National Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters issued a notice on "Strengthening Urban Safety Work," urging regions, relevant departments, and units to learn from recent major incidents caused by heavy rainfall and safety production issues, effectively prevent and resolve major safety risks, and ensure the safety of people's lives and property and social stability.
May 2023: Minister Ni Hong announced the full launch of the Urban Infrastructure Lifeline Safety Project, emphasizing the importance of conducting a comprehensive survey of urban infrastructure, establishing a database covering both aboveground and underground facilities, identifying risk sources and points, and compiling an urban safety risk list.
On September 26, 2019, the Beijing Municipal People's Government Office issued the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting Urban Safety Development" (Jing Zheng Ban Fa [2019] No. 17), which calls for enhanced safety monitoring in urban operation fields such as gas, electricity, heating, water supply, drainage, telecommunications, and transportation, and promotes the automation of early warning and control systems for urban lifeline systems.
On May 31, 2021, the Zhejiang Provincial Development and Reform Commission and the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment issued the "14th Five-Year Plan for Zhejiang Province to Respond to Climate Change" (Zhe Fa Gai Gui Hua [2021] No. 215), requiring a gradual improvement in the construction and operational standards of urban lifeline systems such as electricity, drainage, gas, and telecommunications, to ensure the stable and safe operation of infrastructure under extreme weather and climate conditions.
On April 30, 2021, the Shanghai Municipal People's Government issued the "Opinions of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government on Further Strengthening Urban Safety Risk Prevention and Control" (Hu Fu Fa [2021] No. 3), demanding increased maintenance and management of urban lifeline system infrastructure throughout its entire lifecycle, promoting the integration of infrastructure databases, and strengthening the construction of safety facilities that complement municipal facilities.
On May 4, 2022, the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government issued the "Urban Lifeline Engineering Safety Construction Work Plan," with the goal of leading with the safety construction of urban lifeline projects, emphasizing key points, implementing step by step, adhering to unified standards, planning, and supervision, achieving comprehensive perception, access, monitoring, and early warning, and creating an integrated urban safety risk perception system that encompasses land, sea, air, space, and ground.
On May 31, 2022, the Jiangsu Province Urban Lifeline Safety Engineering Construction Promotion Work Leadership Group Office held its second work scheduling meeting of 2022 in Nanjing. The meeting emphasized that pilot cities should thoroughly implement the spirit of the national urban infrastructure lifeline safety engineering site meeting, focus on 7 risk scenarios, strengthen "comprehensive supervision," promote "smart monitoring," and create a "Jiangsu solution" for urban safety supervision. It also stressed solving work challenges with a problem-oriented approach, accelerating safety risk assessment and smart monitoring, focusing on data integration and de-sensitization, completing tasks on schedule to ensure integration into the provincial supervision system, and supporting funding and technology to plan for industry development and technological innovation, providing strong momentum for the safe operation of urban lifelines.
On June 25, 2023, the Zhejiang Province Urban Lifeline Safety Engineering Site Meeting was held in Keqiao. Officials from provincial and municipal departments, representatives from urban operation sectors, and others gathered to share experiences in advancing urban lifeline safety engineering construction and discuss how to use digital means to detect and control risk hazards early. They emphasized a management process centered on "human defense" to effectively enhance urban safety and protect people's lives and property.
In 2023, Henan Province issued the "Three-Year Action Plan for the Construction of Urban Infrastructure Lifeline Safety Engineering in Henan Province (2023-2025)," clarifying the acceleration of urban infrastructure lifeline safety engineering construction to ensure the safe and orderly operation of cities.
