With the quiet rise of slow lifestyles such as city walking and camping, young people's desire for a sense of leisure in life has become increasingly prominent.

In recent years, the sense of leisure in life has been rising from an individual emotional experience to an important measure of the quality of urban development.

Young people are the source of vitality for urban development, and youth growth and urban development can empower each other.

Creating a sense of leisure in life is a strategic choice for stimulating urban vitality and building youth development-oriented cities.

How can cities create an urban atmosphere that makes young people feel relaxed, a sense of belonging, and resonance?

Responding to individual needs and stimulating urban vitality

Cities are important spatial carriers for young people's daily production and life, and creating a sense of leisure in life for young people has important practical significance.

For young people, a sense of leisure in life is an important support for relieving stress and maintaining physical and mental health.

Against the backdrop of rapid urbanization and economic structural transformation, young people's desire for a sense of leisure in life has become increasingly prominent.

Some scholars have proposed the "theory of triple acceleration," namely the acceleration of technological iteration, the shortening of social change cycles, and the acceleration of the pace of life, making "time poverty" a common feeling.

From the perspective of consumption time distribution, late-night hours after 10 p.m. and work breaks have become the two peak periods for emotional consumption, and fragmented time such as commuting and lunch breaks is also densely filled.

At the same time, the rise of slow lifestyles such as city walking and camping is precisely an attempt by young people to actively leave blank space in life and regain a sense of relaxation.

Responding to spiritual needs under economic pressure.

Rigid expenditures such as housing, education, and medical care crowd out young people's disposable income.

Even under such real pressure, many young people are still willing to spend money on experiential consumption such as scripted murder games, escape rooms, concerts, and outdoor camping.

With the help of digital platforms such as Bilibili, Xiaohongshu, and Douyin, young people share content such as city walking routes, store check-ins, and camping experiences, expanding the aesthetic boundaries of urban space through co-creation and interaction, and promoting the extension of leisure space from physical places to spiritual fields.

It helps repair fragile social relationships.

The "Resilient Growth - 2025 Panorama Report on Chinese Youth Life" shows that more than 30% of young people frequently feel lonely, and nearly 90% of young people have had the experience of "paying for emotional value."

Through interest activities such as frisbee, cycling, handicrafts, fishing, and rock climbing, young people build "digital interest-based communities" and can release pressure and seek spiritual connection.

Cities providing space and opportunities for such activities is a positive response to young people's social loneliness.

For cities, creating a sense of leisure in life for young people is an internal need to enhance attractiveness, stimulate vitality, and strengthen resilience.

Research in economic geography shows that urban amenity has become a core factor in attracting high-end talent and creative industries.

At a time when cross-city talent mobility is increasingly frequent, in addition to job opportunities, whether a city can provide a relaxed, diverse, and flexible lifestyle has become an important consideration for young people when choosing a place to settle.

It gives rise to the "youth economy" and an innovation ecosystem.

Young people engage in consumption and creation around subcultures and interest circles, such as ACG culture, national trends, and extreme sports, which itself is an endogenous cultural productive force.

If cities can actively adapt, they can transform young people's leisure needs into sustained momentum for cultural and creative industries and the nighttime economy.

Creating a sense of leisure in life for young people helps build a more resilient urban social structure.

When young people establish stable community connections and psychological adjustment abilities in a leisurely urban life, the overall social resilience and risk resistance of the city will also be improved.

Reshaping urban space and consolidating the foundation of leisurely life scenarios

In the process of promoting the construction of youth development-oriented cities, the sense of leisure in life is rising from an individual emotional experience to an important measure of the quality of urban development.

Young people's longing for a leisurely life is not an escape from striving, but an internal need for high-quality time and emotional space.

In reality, problems such as separation of work and residence, long commutes, lack of social space, and knowledge isolation continue to compress the living space of some young people.

Cities need to start with spatial restructuring and consolidate the scenario foundation of young people's lives.

Breaking the separation of work and residence so that young people can live with peace of mind.

The separation of work and residence is the primary cause of mental exhaustion among urban youth.

Higher housing costs prompt some young people to move to the outer areas of cities, spending several hours commuting back and forth every day, and the rhythm of daily life is consumed by commuting.

The key to breaking this real dilemma lies in reshaping the spatial relationship between residence and employment from the level of urban planning.

Cities can implement a mixed-land-use strategy for work-residence balance and prospectively arrange talent apartments and affordable rental housing in youth-concentrated areas such as science and innovation parks, industrial bases, and rail transit hubs.

By shortening the physical distance between residence and employment, commuting pressure can be alleviated at the source.

At the same time, cities should promote refined design of residential space, create small-unit fully equipped residences, and set up shared kitchens, study rooms, and fitness spaces to precisely meet the spatial needs of young people in multiple scenarios such as living alone, studying, and socializing.

Optimizing urban commuting space and enhancing young people's sense of leisure in travel.

The wear and tear caused by commuting is reflected not only in time consumption but also in emotional consumption.

Spatial redevelopment of commuting scenes can transform originally exhausting transit trips into stay-based scenes that carry leisurely experiences.

Cities need to prioritize the development of rail transit and bus rapid transit systems, promote deep integration of industrial parks, commercial centers, and transportation hubs, build efficient and convenient public transportation networks, and fundamentally compress commuting time.

At node spaces such as bus stops and subway station halls, cities should add rest seats, charging ports, and information display screens, and embed micro-business formats such as art exhibitions, cultural display windows, and light food retail.

Take the "commuting station" of the Chengdu Metro as an example: stations are equipped with shared umbrellas, self-service coffee machines, and mini art galleries, allowing young people to take brief rests and enjoy the scenery while waiting.

Creating diverse social spaces and building emotional bridges.

Under a fast-paced life, urban youth are prone to solidified social circles and rising loneliness, and open, diverse, low-threshold social spaces have become carriers for cultivating emotional connections.

Urban planning needs to break through static ornamental design and strengthen the interactivity and participation of space.

Interactive landscapes, shared tables and chairs, and open communication areas can be set up in squares, waterfront walkways, and community centers to facilitate spontaneous gathering and exchange among young people.

In urban renewal and commercial development, formats such as distinctive dining, independent bookstores, stand-up comedy theaters, and cultural and creative shops should be embedded to build "third places" that integrate consumption, leisure, and social interaction.

For example, Yulin East Road in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, relies on the "community planner" mechanism to transform idle storefronts in old neighborhoods into independent cafes and miniature art exhibition halls, attracting young people to meet at street corners and communicate in alleys, spontaneously forming interest-based communities.

These spaces are not only places of consumption and transaction, but also spiritual fields where young people relieve emotions and gain a sense of belonging.

Expanding the functions of learning spaces and building youth co-creation scenarios.

Shared learning spaces break through the single-function limitations of traditional study rooms and integrate online digital resources with offline flexible facilities, such as mobile study pods, shared bookshelves, and smart reservation systems, to adapt to young people's fragmented and diversified learning needs.

By embedding co-creation functions such as cultural and creative incubation, skill exchange, and youth night schools, cities can promote the transformation of urban residential space into growth space that empowers youth development and supports collaborative innovation.

For example, Hangzhou Guashan Future Community, relying on urban village renovation, has built a composite learning scene integrating shared study rooms, maker workshops, and roadshow spaces, and relies on a smart system to create an "space + service + community" operation model, effectively revitalizing existing resources, building a platform for youth collaborative co-creation, and continuously injecting talent momentum and innovative vitality into urban renewal.

Enriching urban cultural supply and strengthening the spiritual core

Creating an urban atmosphere that makes young people feel relaxed, a sense of belonging, and resonance requires progress in cultivating the youth economy, supporting creative workers, and promoting the integration of cultural and tourism scenes.

Cultivating the youth economy and activating the internal momentum of young people's cultural consumption.

The youth economy is a new economic form aimed at meeting young people's growth and needs for a better life, covering formats such as trendy cultural and creative products, interest circles, experiential socializing, knowledge empowerment, and digital entertainment.

Cities can incorporate such niche cultural needs into public cultural supply, promote their breakthrough and implementation, and empower the improvement of the cultural industry.

Relying on festivals, markets, and competitions, cities should regularly carry out activities such as anime exhibitions, music festivals, and cultural and creative markets to improve the youth economy ecosystem.

They should continuously lower the threshold for participation and optimize interactive experiences, allowing young people to release emotions and establish social bonds in cultural consumption, making cultural experiences an inclusive and accessible part of daily consumption.

Supporting creative workers and enhancing young people's cultural creativity.

Creative groups such as independent illustrators, short video creators, independent musicians, and intangible cultural heritage artisans are participating in urban cultural production in flexible ways.

Special support funds for youth cultural and creative industries can be established, low-cost shared creative spaces and equipment can be provided, and young people can be guided to deeply explore local culture in their creations.

For example, Jiangxi Province has built development platforms, deeply cultivated core entrepreneurship and innovation cluster areas such as Taoxichuan and Sanbao International Ceramic Valley, and created an industrial ecosystem integrating creation, display, transaction, and incubation.

Through measures such as original markets, brand cultivation, and e-commerce empowerment, it helps young makers turn creative works into market results.

At present, Taoxichuan has gathered more than 33,000 "Jingpiao" young makers from all over the country and successfully incubated more than 4,500 independent ceramic brands, continuously injecting youthful and innovative vitality into the thousand-year porcelain capital.

Promoting the integration of culture and tourism and creating immersive cultural leisure formats.

Cities need to break industry boundaries among culture, tourism, commerce, and leisure, and promote deep spatial integration of multiple formats.

For example, Shanghai Asia Mansion has built new performance spaces and gathered small theaters, and close-range interactive performances attract young people to watch performances across cities.

Xi'an's "The Longest Day in Chang'an" themed block relies on a popular film and television IP, integrating Tang-style architecture, Tang cuisine, hundreds of handicrafts, and immersive performances.

Visitors change into costumes and participate in character interactions, turning passive viewing into scene experience and making it a popular cultural tourism landmark nationwide.

All localities can adapt measures to local conditions and introduce lightweight formats such as script tours, intangible cultural heritage handicrafts, and themed markets in commercial complexes and industrial heritage sites.

Such formats have small investment scales, fast updates, and strong social attributes, can effectively revitalize existing space, and align with young people's consumption preferences that emphasize experience and emotional value, allowing cultural leisure to integrate into subtle urban scenes.

Improving the institutional guarantee system and building institutional support for leisurely life

Creating a sense of leisure in life cannot be separated from rigid institutional guarantees.

Only by transforming the sense of leisure from an individual emotional experience into protection of rights and interests can young people have a stable foundation for living calmly.

Implementing the paid leave system.

It is necessary to improve the labor security supervision system and include the implementation of paid leave and flexible staggered leave in key supervision areas.

At the same time, employers should be guided to implement flexible models such as segmented leave, parent-child leave, and consecutive weekend leave, protecting young people's right to independently arrange their leisure time.

Improving the social security system.

It is necessary to expand the supply of affordable rental housing and improve the rental subsidy mechanism; promote the inclusion of services such as psychological counseling, sports rehabilitation, and traditional Chinese medicine conditioning in medical insurance coverage; rely on subsidy policies to link childcare services and reduce the cost of marriage, childbirth, and parenting; and develop community embedded elderly care services to reduce the burden of support on young people.

For example, Changning District in Shanghai, through its "Youth Station" project, provides eligible young people with transitional free accommodation for up to 15 days, along with employment guidance and psychological support, effectively alleviating young people's housing anxiety.

Improving labor laws and regulations.

It is necessary to standardize key links such as employment contracts, social security contributions, and salary payments, build fast rights protection and legal aid channels, and reduce the cost of rights protection for workers.

For example, in 2025, Xiamen City in Fujian Province issued the "Several Provisions of the Xiamen Special Economic Zone on the Labor Rights and Interests Protection of Online Delivery Riders."

As the country's first local regulation specifically targeting online delivery riders, it clarifies platform employment contract obligations and algorithm disclosure rules, and builds a multi-level protection system of "occupational injury protection + commercial insurance + medical mutual aid," forging a legal protection net for young people in flexible employment.