Chinese central authorities on Sunday issued guidelines on urban development, two months after leaders met at the Central Urban Work Conference and promised to make China's sprawling cities more livable and environmentally friendly.

Issued by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, the document sets the basic principles, key tasks and targets for future urban development and management, to ensure that cities are "orderly constructed, properly developed and efficiently operated."

The last time China held a Central Urban Work Conference was in 1978, when only 18 percent of the population lived in cities. That had risen to 56.1 percent by the end of 2015.

The urbanization that has characterized the past few decades has brought about significant social and economic changes in China, leading to problems such as traffic congestion and pollution, which have compromised public safety.

Such urban ills have sparked public ire, putting pressure on city planners to find solutions.

China will limit cities from growing beyond their natural resources, according to the guidelines.

Besides, enclosed residential compounds will not be built in principle while buildings separated by blocks will be promoted. Streets within existing communities will also opened to the public.