CGTN Poll: A survey across 25 global cities reveals common ground on urban governance

As urbanization continues to advance worldwide, issues such as growing urban populations, increasingly diverse needs and the allocation of public resources are placing greater demands on urban governance. A public-opinion survey jointly conducted by CGTN and Renmin University of China's Institute for International Communication in the New Era surveyed 7,288 respondents across 25 cities in 21 countries worldwide. The findings show that respondents broadly expect urban governance to place greater emphasis on meeting residents' needs, improving public services and providing more accessible channels for residents to voice their concerns and receive responses. They also express positive views of China's people-centered approach to urban development.

The survey found that 52.5% of respondents were satisfied with the governance of their own cities. Among the 11 public service areas assessed, satisfaction with cultural, leisure and recreational facilities, public spaces, public transportation, and education and healthcare stood at around 60%, while housing affordability, noise control and air quality were seen as the three areas most in need of improvement.

Notably, large cities face more complex realities in pursuing refined governance. Growing populations and increasingly diverse needs (57.3%), insufficient coordination among government departments (52.9%), and limited community-level resources that hinder timely responses to problems (50%) were identified as the three major challenges. Some 65% of respondents called for stronger coordination among government departments, while 64% expected more efficient and convenient channels for reporting problems and submitting requests.

"People's cities are built by the people and for the people" is a guiding principle of China's urban development. The survey found that 91.4% of respondents strongly agreed with this principle. In addition, 89% expressed positive views of China's approach of "extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits," recognizing the importance of involving residents, businesses, social organizations and other stakeholders in urban governance.

In assessing China's achievements in urban governance over the past decade, respondents reported the highest satisfaction with public transportation and road networks, at 83.2%, followed by one-stop online government services at 79.3% and urban safety and emergency response at 79.2%. When asked which aspects of China's urban governance experience could offer useful lessons for other countries, respondents ranked the application of digital technologies to urban governance, community-level governance and responsiveness to residents' concerns, and urban infrastructure development among the top three. Notably, 90.5% agreed that scientific planning and refined management could improve the precision of public service delivery, and called for countries to pursue broad-based cooperation with China in these areas.

The survey was conducted online using an established respondent panel. The 25 cities covered were Beijing, Shanghai, Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, Tokyo, Toronto, London, Rome, Madrid, New York, Seoul, Buenos Aires, Delhi, Cairo, Cape Town, Lagos, Rio de Janeiro, Bangkok, Mumbai, Mexico City, Nairobi, São Paulo, Jakarta and Istanbul. Respondents were members of the general public aged 18 to 65. The sample was designed to align with the age and gender distributions reported in each country's census.