Community Renewal under Multi-Stakeholder Co-Governance: A Case Study of Shanghai’s Inner City

Abstract

Multi-stakeholder (e.g., governments, residents, the “3C” of community and “third party”) co-governance has become a hot topic in the community-renewal research field. However, the co-ordination of various rights and interests hinders the co-governance of multiple stakeholders, particularly in China. Current research on the mechanisms of multiple co-governance remains inadequate. This article presents a typical case of multi-stakeholder co-governance for community renewal with respect to adding elevators to an apartment building in Shanghai’s inner city. The multi-stakeholder co-governance process involved in this research differs from the traditional model, which is mainly led by governments. Field investigations and in-depth interviews were employed to explore how multiple stakeholders conduct dialogues and negotiations in the process of elevator installation. We summarize the key elements of community renewal, show the internal mechanism, and provide a new practical and methodological investigation of multi-stakeholder co-governance. This article highlights the significance of a good interest-co-ordination mechanism and simplification of the community-renewal process. It is also suggested to encourage the participation of multiple stakeholders and to promote co-operation between the community and enterprises in community governance.