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. Recognizing the limitations of the existing four-phase framework—single-factor surveys prior to 2003; three-dimensional geological surveys and comprehensive geological surveys during 2003–2018; multi-factor urban geological surveys since 2018; and urban geological safety risk surveys and assessments since 2022—the research endeavors to develop a more integrated, systematic, and future-focused approach to underpin high-quality urban development.Results: The study proposes a novel “four-in-one” urban geological work system tailored for the new development stage, integrating: ① demand-driven objectives, ② operational systems, ③ advanced technical methods and standardized frameworks, and ④ unified data and information platforms. This integrated system enhances the coherence, scalability, and sustainability of urban geological work. Additionally, it provides recommendations regarding institutional arrangements and policy mechanisms to promote the advancement of urban geological work toward greater systematization, comprehensiveness, and sustainability.