With the rapid advancement of urbanization in China, urban development has entered a new stage. The Central Urban Work Conference held in 2025 clearly stated that we should build a modern people-centered city that is innovative, livable, beautiful, resilient, civilized and smart, and firmly hold the bottom line of urban safety. China's urban geological work has undergone four phases: single-factor surveys before 2003; three-dimensional geological surveys and comprehensive geological surveys from 2003 to 2018; multi-factor urban geological surveys since 2018; and urban geological safety risk surveys and assessments since 2022. Each phase has played a vital role in supporting urban planning and construction according to the development priorities of its time. However, under the current stage of high-quality urban development, new challenges related to survey precision, data reliability, and long-term sustainability have emerged, revealing limitations in the existing urban geological framework. In response, this study proposes a novel “four-in-one” urban geological work system for the new development stage, integrating urban geological demand objectives, operational systems, technical methods and standard frameworks, and data and information platforms. Additionally, it provides recommendations regarding institutional arrangements and policy mechanisms to promote the advancement of urban geological work toward greater systematization, comprehensiveness, and sustainability.