(Yicai) Oct. 27 -- The main event in China of this year's World Cities Day will kick off in Shanghai tomorrow.

Themed Financial Sustainable Urban Future for All, the four-day event will include an opening ceremony and over 20 forums, side events, and exhibitions, Jin Chen, deputy director of the Shanghai Housing and Urban-Rural Construction Management Commission, said at a press conference yesterday.

The World Cities Day's China event will be co-hosted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Shanghai municipal government, and the United Nations Human Settlements Program.

At the event, the first Global Sustainable Cities Award, or Shanghai Award, will be handed out to praise five global cities that performed well in adopting the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and New Urban Agenda, Jin noted.

“Fifty-four cities from 16 countries applied to be considered for the award”, Jin added. “They cover cities in developed countries, developing countries, and least developed ones at different levels of development, income and demographics.”

The UN-Habitat announced the Shanghai Award in March last year.

The UN established World Cities Day in December 2013 and picked Oct. 31 for its global observance as a sign to continue practicing the idea of Better City, Better Life, which was promoted at the Expo 2010 in Shanghai, concluded on Oct. 31, 2010.

Joint efforts from countries, cities, financial bodies, companies, and residents worldwide are required to contribute to the financing of sustainable development, given that the theme was proposed because global economic growth slowed down and the progress of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development significantly lagged behind goals, Li Zhe, vice division head of program finance at the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, said at the press conference.

Over the past years, China has made steady progress in urban renewal and improving the quality of housing and city infrastructure, Li added.

China's urbanization rate exceeded 65 percent as of the end of last year, with a nationwide urban road mileage of 548,500 kilometers, Li noted. Meanwhile, Chinese cities' gas coverage, sewage treatment, and harmless household waste treatment rates reached 98.1 percent, 97.9 percent, and 99.9 percent, respectively, he pointed out. Green space per capita was 15.1 square meters.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione