Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development
The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development is a ministry of the People's Republic of China which provides housing and regulates the state construction activities in mainland China.
History
It was formerly known as the Ministry of Construction (Chinese: 建设部; pinyin: Jiànshèbù).
As part of US$586 billion economic stimulus package of November 2008, the government plans to:
- Housing: increase the construction of more affordable and low-rent housing and the speeding up of slum demolition, to initiate a pilot program to rebuild rural homes, and a program to encourage nomads to move into permanent housing.
- Rural infrastructure: improve roads and power grids in the countryside, and drinking water, including a huge project to divert water from the South to the North of China. Also, poverty relief initiatives will be strengthened.
In November 2012, the Ministry established its smart cities pilot program, which became the start of a nationwide smart cities movement. From 2013 to 2015, 277 Chinese cities joined the smart cities pilot program. As of 2016, there were approximately 500 smart city projects in China.
