The Asia-Pacific Innovation Headquarters of the Urban Index of Shenzhen (UIS) was officially unveiled on Aug. 19 at the Guangming District Urban Planning Exhibition Hall, marking a new step in Shenzhen’s efforts to promote international cooperation on urban governance.

UIS was officially launched during the APEC Forestry Ministerial Meeting held on July 27-28. Guided by the Ministry of Natural Resources’ Department of Territorial Spatial Planning, the index was jointly developed by the ministry’s Territorial Spatial Planning Research Center and the Shenzhen Urban Planning and Land Resource Research Center.

Designed as a comprehensive urban evaluation index, UIS aims to become a new global public good for urban governance. The initiative has received support from international organizations including the United Nations Development Program, UN-Habitat and the United Nations Office for Sustainable Development. It has also been presented at major international platforms such as the World Urban Forum and the World Cities Summit.

The index evaluates cities across six dimensions: innovation, livability, beauty, resilience, civilization and intelligence. Its developers describe UIS as a value framework, analytical approach and governance tool for building people-centered modern cities.

Through the new headquarters, Shenzhen plans to deepen cooperation with APEC economies and members of the International Mangrove Center, expand global networks for city-to-city exchange, and strengthen its role as a hub for dialogue, mutual learning and innovation in urban governance.