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China's Baotou municipal government received an UN award recently for its "outstanding improvements in shelter and the urban environment and successful cooperation with other Chinese cities".

After receiving the honor at a World Habitat Day meeting of celebrations in Brussels, Xing Yun, the leader of Baotou city of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China, told Xinhua that he hopes other cities across the globe can share the successful experience of Baotou in housing for medium- and low-income households so as to promote better living environment for humanity.

A major earthquake in 1996 destroyed most of the time-worn medium- and low-income households in Baotou, depriving almost 1 million people of their homes, Xing said. But Baotou municipality took that as a challenge and an opportunity to reconstruct medium-and low-income environmentally sound households, he said.

Government housing finance in Baotou provided capital and cooperation with other cities accelerated the city's housing development. By the year 2001, the city's newly constructed floor space of affordable housing had reached 13 million square meters, which equals the total space constructed in the 46 years before the earthquake, with an average floor space per capita of 22.4 square meters, sheltering 200,000 households who were originally without adequate shelter, according to Xing.

Baotou is among nine winners for this year's UN-Habitat Scroll of Honor award. Every year, during the World Habitat Day celebrations, which are held on the first Monday of October, the UN gives the prestigious award to individuals or organizations who have committed themselves to improving the urban environment. This year's nine awardees were selected for their works and commitment in encouraging city to city cooperation, the theme for World Habitat Day in 2002.

Other award winners for 2002 are Nakuru city of Kenya, Leuven city of Belgium, Brazilian Institute of Municipal Administration, Yokohama-based Citynet in Japan, Netherlands' Dutch Platform for habitat, Spain's Bacelona Mayor Joan Clos, Senegal's development group ENDA Tiers Monde, and American Rene Frank, leader of the International Real Estate Federation.