Citizen participation in Chinese urban governance

Abstract

This chapter discusses citizenship participation in Chinese local urban governance in the new era. It first provides a historical overview of the administrative reform in Chinese local urban governance since the 1990s, which in the twenty-first century has focused on participatory participation. Different models to promote active citizen participation in communities are introduced, characterized by different roles played by mediators such as the subdistrict office, the community, social organizations, and businesses, and also by the degree of collaboration between them. This chapter then particularly looks at the role of planners in Chinese community governance. Taking the S Village transformation project in Guangzhou City as a case study, this chapter examines how urban planners, as experts, contributed to improving citizen participation in local community planning. The planners constructed forums for expert–citizen interaction in which they performed multiple roles as both experts and communicators, reframed the transformation plan based on villagers’ community identity and promoted capacity building. Such professional groups have thus emerged as mediators linking the government and citizens in Chinese community governance. However, the study reveals that experts’ role in supporting citizens’ participation is restricted due to a lack of institutional support.