SHANGHAI, Nov. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On November  3, the side event of the 2026 SDG Cities Global Conference on Shanghai Adapted Index was convened in Shanghai with a focus on building shared assessment tools and platforms for global urban sustainable development.

Experts, scholars and city representatives from UN‑Habitat, universities and research institutions at home and abroad gathered by the Huangpu River for in‑depth exchanges on the latest outcomes and international practical applications of the index across thematic scenarios including climate resilience, urban renewal, urban governance, healthy cities and science‑and‑innovation‑driven cities.

During the special address segment, Robert Ndugwa, chief of the Data and Statistics Unit within the Knowledge and Innovation Branch of UN‑Habitat, outlined the overall profile, research progress and organizational mechanism of the index. It serves as a scientific instrument for cities to measure their own progress toward sustainable development and provides an important foundation for research on thematic application scenarios.

In the thematic application report presentation session, five experts interpreted newly‑released outcomes of thematic application scenarios for this year.

Dr. Huang Sihua from the Shanghai Climate Center presented the report on climate‑resilient cities. Expanding its assessment scope beyond Chinese cities, this scenario covers seven Asian cities. Following the index's principle of refraining from cross‑city rankings while focusing on each city's own longitudinal progress, it delivers an assessment basis for cities' climate‑adaptation actions.

Hu Gangyu from the Shanghai Institute of Urban Regeneration and Sustainability and Huang Xin from Xinhua Index Research Institute jointly introduced the thematic application‑scenario report on urban renewal.

Grounded in the Shanghai Adapted Index framework, this report selects seven indicative indicators covering dimensions such as housing improvement, public services, green space, traffic safety, smart infrastructure and economic vitality. It monitors urban‑renewal progress across ten sample cities from 2019 to 2024 and categorizes them into three typologies: sustained‑effort cities, optimization‑oriented cities, and adjustment‑and‑adaptation cities, with differentiated policy recommendations put forward accordingly.

The joint Chinese‑international research team for the Shanghai Adapted Index will continue refining the indicator system, expanding application scenarios, and developing assessment toolkits.

The team aims to scale the index from pilot implementation in Chinese cities to global‑city application. By feeding local practical experience into international agendas, it will contribute further insights and solutions for delivering the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the New Urban Agenda.

Contact person: Ms. Liu, Tel: 86-10-63074558