Residents' needs given priority in urbanization

Community's transformation reflects philosophy of balanced development

Just a 10-minute walk from the tourist throngs of Shanghai's Bund, and hidden behind the glitzy skyline of pedestrian malls and luxury hotels, lies a residential community that has undergone a quiet transformation over the past three years.

Once a crumbling cluster of 1980s-era walk-ups plagued by leaking roofs, tangled power lines and cluttered alleyways, the Ruyili residential community has re--emerged as a model for a concept long championed by China's top leadership: a city built "by the people and for the people".

"I never imagined I'd live to see this place become what it is now," said Luo Jianshe, 72, a longtime resident of Ruyili. "Before, you had to step over puddles and duck under pipes just to get home. Now it's like walking through a garden."