Research on the Path of Improving the Efficiency of Urban Community Governance from the Perspective of Collaborative Governance:A Case Study of Daqing City,China

Under the background of“co-construction,co-governance,and sharing,”the role of the grassroots level is becoming increasingly important.In the past,the governance body was single with blocked information,and the inefficient governance mode required gradual transformation.In order to achieve collaborative governance and break through the obstacles in grassroots governance,the key lies in how to play the role of the community,coordinate the relationship between citizens and the community,and allow the community to better play the role of grassroots governance.Under the guidance of the concept of collaborative governance and combined with relevant data,this paper discusses the problems and current situation of community governance in Daqing City,China,explores the path to improve the efficiency of urban community governance,and puts forward relevant constructive suggestions to better realize the role of community in grassroots governance.

The Grass-Roots Governance of the National Government in Tianjin Recovery Area After the Triumph of the Anti-Japanese War

The national government wants to penetrate into the grass-roots unit after the triumph of the Anti-Japanese War in the recovery area.Through the reorganization of the Baojia system,the government expects to achieve local autonomy and then solve the people’s livelihood issues.The new Baojia system provides a platform for people to achieve their own demands,which presents the vision of civil rights to a certain extent.However,because of the complexity of the postwar social environment,the Baojia system cannot completely represent the will of the people,and finally becomes a militarized organization that was used as a tool to carry out the government decree.

Enhancing coastal areas governance for sustainable tourism in the context of urbanization and climate change in eastern Thailand

Coastal areas in the eastern sub-region of Thailand,a popular destination in Southeast Asia,are facing rapid tourism-related urbanization and associated consequences of environment and climate change(CC).Thus,this study aims to analyze the relationships between tourism,coastal areas,the environment,and CC in the context of tourism urbanization;and recommend strategies for enhancing the governance of coastal areas.Three popular destinations were selected as study areas,Koh Chang,Koh Mak,and Pattaya.Group discussions,questionnaire surveys,in-terviews,and observation were used for primary data collection together with secondary data.The results show that the development of these destinations has been incompatible with the coastal environment and CC patterns.Rapid urbanization from tourism development is the main driver of environmental changes and makes the areas vulnerable to CC-related risks.While water scarcity and pollution are found the most critical environmental issues of the destinations,coastal areas are negatively affected in terms of increased air and water pollution and resource degradation.They have also been exposed to different CC-related problems while the risks of accumulative impacts of both environment and CC have not been adequately recognized or addressed.Although some measures have provided synergies of improved environment and increased climate resilience,possible conflicts and gaps were also found.Public infrastructure integration and optimization to enhance coastal areas'environment and climate resilience are suggested.

CHALLENGES AND PROBLEMS: CHINA'S URBAN GOVERNANCE

China′s urban reforms have brought social progress and development, but a comprehensive national system of social welfare (for example, unemployment insurance, pensions, medical care and public housing) for new migrants from rural areas is lacking. One of the most remarkable changes in Chinese cities in the last decade was a change in social "equality", with the rise of new poverty both in individual communities and some social groups in urban society. However, there is little social assistance and public infrastructure for the migrants. Governments or communities or individual should pay attention to the control of new urban poverty and new slums. This paper consider that it is necessary to launch a successful policy, which include mainly: 1) accommodating urban growth through low cost investment projects; 2) urban economy depends heavily on successful macroeconomic policy; 3) to broaden the three channels linking adjustment to the incidence of urban poverty; 4) to restructure urban economic based on the high or new technology; 5) to coordinate relationship between urban economic growth and environment management for sustainable development of Beijing′s metropolitan fringe.

Resource Dependence Relationship between Grass-roots Government and Farmers' Specialized Cooperatives

Based on theories of resource dependence and government functions,this paper analyzed benefit interaction between grass-roots government and farmers' specialized cooperatives in Hubei Province. It was intended to make clear the path dependence relationship between grassroots government and farmers' specialized cooperatives and find out problems in between. Besides,from the perspective of grass-roots government and farmers' specialized cooperatives,it came up with corresponding recommendations,to promote constant improvement of farmers' specialized cooperatives,and help them to become key forces of leading farmers to get rich,pull agricultural economic development,and promote new socialist countryside construction.

Public Participation and “Good” Urban Governance

In the 21^st century,with the development of globalization and urbanization in the whole world,and the economic and social advancement,the managing structure,and methods of the urban governance are changing rapidly.This situation shows that the good urban governance is facing a wide variety of challenges and issues to serve the contemporary cities.Among those numerous challenges and issues,public participation is a key factor that should be well considered if the urban governance wants to be a good one in the future.The reason for this statement is that almost all of the decisions,policies,and regulations made by the urban governance are relevant to the daily life of people living in the city.On the other side,good urban governance should connect well with all the relevant people,organizations,and government sections,and consider all advices and needs of them to make sure that the policies could serve public in the maximum range.That means the residents in the city are the majority service object of the urban governance,and providing the needs of the public can help the urban governance turn to a positive image to the residents.Under that situation,public participation offers the chance for urban governance to make correct and satisfied decisions for the residents,and it is being accepted that public participation takes a vitally important position in a good urban governance in the contemporary ages.In this essay,the importance of public participation in urban governance will be exhibited in detail firstly and then discuss the problems of public participation and increase engagement of public participation in urban governance.To compare with the bad governance,the redevelopment process of Liede village could be used as an example to discuss the benefits of the good urban governance with high-level public participation in China.Finally,the conclusion would be given out at the end of the essay.

Sustainability of Urban Lakes： Role of Values in Lake Governance in Ahmedabad, India

Lakes have different social, economical, and ecological values at different periods of societal development, which make them vulnerable to change. One of the ongoing discussions in urban lake governance in India is the revitalization of the urban lakes. The core challenge documented in the governance of urban lakes is to address and find balance in the changing and competing value systems. Effectively addressing the change （or priority） in the values linked to the governance systems is a major step toward sustainability of the urban lakes. There is still limited understanding of how the values of urban lakes are progressively linked to the social, ecological and economic values of the urban developments. The paper looks at the interactions and outcomes of the spatial and temporal dynamics of the urban lakes systems especially the values that sustain the institutional and ecological memory. The focus is on the role of values in urban lake governance. The multitier framework for analyzing social-ecological systems CSES） which is in developmental phase at Elinor Ostrom＇s Workshop is used as the guiding framework to build understanding of the urban lake governance in Ahmedabad, India and at the same time contribute to the development of the SES framework.

The Transformation and Governance of Urban Villages with Historic Culture:A Case Study of Xiaxifang,Yongfeng County,Ji'an City,Jiangxi Province

The transformation and governance of urban villages with historic culture is faced with difficulties such as lack of attention and large-scale demolition and construction,which is not conducive to the continuation of urban characteristic culture.Taking Xiaxifang,Yongfeng County,Ji'an City,Jiangxi Province for example,this study explored the transformation and governance of urban villages with historic culture from the perspectives of spatial structure,urban function,infrastructure,ecological environment,and community governance,so as to provide a reference for the research and practice of urban villages with historic culture.

Practice and Enlightenment of Community Governance Innovation in New Urbanization Process

New urbanization urgently calls for new ideas of community governance.First,this paper defines the important concepts,collates and summarizes the relevant theory. This paper takes Xindu district of Chengdu as an example,analyses the practice and enlightenment of community governance innovation,attempting to provide some insights into the community governance innovation in the new urbanization process.

CHALLENGES AND PROBLEMS: CHINA'S URBAN GOVERNANCE

China′s urban reforms have brought social progress and development, but a comprehensive national system of social welfare (for example, unemployment insurance, pensions, medical care and public housing) for new migrants from rural areas is lacking. One of the most remarkable changes in Chinese cities in the last decade was a change in social "equality", with the rise of new poverty both in individual communities and some social groups in urban society. However, there is little social assistance and public infrastructure for the migrants. Governments or communities or individual should pay attention to the control of new urban poverty and new slums. This paper consider that it is necessary to launch a successful policy, which include mainly: 1) accommodating urban growth through low cost investment projects; 2) urban economy depends heavily on successful macroeconomic policy; 3) to broaden the three channels linking adjustment to the incidence of urban poverty; 4) to restructure urban economic based on the high or new technology; 5) to coordinate relationship between urban economic growth and environment management for sustainable development of Beijing′s metropolitan fringe.

Government's Role in Urban Construction Land Expansion

Focusing on urban construction land expansion,governmental influence on expansion of urban construction land in China is analyzed from fiscal decentralization,government game and land system.Due to fiscal decentralization and coupled with GDP-based performance evaluation system,local government seeks to maximizing economic profits.Whereas,land systems such as land property,land expropriation and land transfer system,let the local governments' profit seeking behavior achieved.The conclusion is that the government's role in urban construction land expansion is mainly from local governments.

Processes of Adaptation and Creation of a Territorial Governance： The Experience of the Cities of Benevento and Salerno （Campania Region, Italy）~

This paper presents some considerations about the definition and role of ＂medium-sized cities＂ in the processes of urban governance of the Italian regional systems, in line with the objectives of European programming 2007-2013. Beginning from some theoretical considerations, the research objective is to delineate the features of the ＂new urban geography＂ of Campania region as it has been formed on the base of the social and economic processes that in the last 30 years have modified the regional urban system in the widest context of Mezzogiorno. To such aim, the paper is articulated in two parts： the first one in which the fundamental passages are re-called in the processes of development of Italian urban areas that have carried to new paradigms object of theoretical approaches still in course of definition, and the second one in which such processes are considered regarding the model of urban development of Campania, on which the research is concentrated. Specifically, the paper presents the case of two ＂middle cities＂ in the Campania region： Benevento and Salerno, which play a particularly important role in the design and development of a ＂regional network of medium-sized cities＂.

Research on the local government investment and fi nancing system innovation and risk assessment under the new-type urbanization background

At present, with the new urbanization as the background of the situation in our country, local governments in China especiallyin the central region as the representative of Henan Province, is to take this opportunity to create their own economic heights and industrialagglomeration, and constantly improve the level of urbanization of the original, but the town level cannot improve open the power of capital, thelocal government of is facing fi nancing, fi nancing platform, fi nancing channels and fi nancing policy and a series of fi nancing systems caused byfi nancing diffi culties. Therefore, as the perspective of the local government, a new study of investment and fi nancing system and the risk measure,can more effectively guide and encourage the existing capital city infrastructure and public services to improve the fi eld.

Administrative Urbanization and City-making in Post-reform China: A Case Study of Ordos City, Inner Mongolia

In post-reform China, local governments, instead of the central state, have become major promoters of urbanization. Differing from the existing literature based on Western theories, this article argues that a localized perspective, ‘administrative urbanization', can provide a contextual explanation for the mechanism of urbanization in the reform era. The case study of Ordos indicates that new town construction, especially in the inland area, has become the main strategy for investment attraction and economic development. The local government has played a dominant role in this construction through a series of administrative measures, including avoidance of central state regulations, land leasing, high standard infrastructure construction, relocation policies and industrial attraction. This article also explores the issue of unsustainability in the new town, and identifies that underdeveloped industrialization, slow population agglomeration and real estate bubbles are primary threats to the sustainability of administrative urbanization.

Urban structure transformation of Lhasa City after the peaceful liberation and democratic reform of Tibet

In Tibet, Buddhism coupled with its theocratic history has given its cities and urban areas unique forms and structures. As the political, religious, and economic center of Tibet, Lhasa City has a special urban form and has experienced typical urban transformation processes for a thousand years. The city has been experiencing significant urban structure transformation that has accompanied the socio-economic development in recent decades since the peaceful liberation and democratic reform of Tibet during the 1950 s. Hence, this study presents the time-series of urban structure changes in Lhasa City for the purpose of understanding the characteristics and mechanisms of transformation under the republican political system. First, the study illustrates the urban socio-economic changes of Lhasa City beginning in the 1950 s via statistical data analysis. We then divide the urban development into several stages. Subsequently, we identify the transformation characteristics of urban structure by investigating urban growth, street structure, land-use, and religious facilities via maps of the city from every development stage. This paper ultimately discusses the regulation of city transformation. This study clarifies several probable issues facing Tibetan cities and proposes suggestions for future urban development of Tibetan cities.

Urban Geography and the Production of Socio-Environmental Inequalities

In this article we use the Urban Political Ecology approach to show that by analysing governance networks we can better understand the production of certain socio-environmental transformations that negatively affect some social groups while benefiting others. Drawing upon two case studies in the UK, the article explores the dialectical relationships between different modes of urban governance on one hand and the socio-environmental transformations fulfilled in each case study on the other hand. The article concludes that although urban regeneration policies are always constrained by the neoliberal established framework of power relations, policy outputs and outcomes could be very different from one place to another, shaping uneven socio-environmental constructions. Finally, we make some recommendations in order to stimulate the production of more sustainable communities in the future.

Human Intervention for Protecting Urban Green Cover: Case of Nagpur, India

The important roles played by green spaces are social, economic, cultural and environmental aspects of sustainable development. Indian urban areas are developing at a very fast pace;simultaneously there is a rapid growth in population too, which impacts the ratio of demand and supply of basic services resulting to sustainability issues. This influences the interfaces between urbanization, population and the environment, as the surroundings are at the receiving end, leading to overexploitation of natural resources especially breathing spaces as parks, gardens and small forests on the name of infrastructural development. The situation augments due to absence of citizen participation in urban governance especially Urban Local Bodies (ULB). Though the 74th Constitution Amendment Act in India has given this opportunity to strengthen the links between the citizens and local democratic governance by way of public participation, the ground realities are different reducing the transparency of accountability of ULB. Based on this, the paper presents the case study of city of Nagpur, 2nd capital of state of Maharashtra, India, how environmental NGOs and citizens fought an eleven month struggle, venture to save a green patch of Nagpur, the Bharat Van from the clutches of local government bodies saving the ill effects on environment. This study is an attempt to highlight the necessity of an integrated approach regarding that the planning, monitoring, designing and maintaining of urban green spaces is required for improving the environmental sustainability in cities in different countries.

Urban Development and Water Management in the Yangtze River Delta

Throughout the history of the world, the development of the cities are related to the large water systems and the ocean. Where the river is abundant, the trade and regional centres could be formed. However, along with the prosperity of the water-cities, massive urban construction and environmental issues are enormous challenges in human process. A “scientific” urban planning, “Sponge City”, “Resilient City”, regional and urban culture and characteristics get more and more attention. The theme of “water and city” is clearly of great historical value and practical significance for the new resilient urban and water management strategies. The paper will summarize characteristics of geographical, historical, socio-cultural and political realms in metropolitan deltas and the historical governance as well as the recent developments in the Yangtze River Delta. It will introduce urban development and water management in four water cities: the canal and the city-Yangzhou, the river and the city-Nanjing, the lake and the city-Suzhou and the sea and the city-Shanghai. And then it will analyze the inner motivation of the interaction between water and cities in Yangtze River Delta. Furthermore, learning from successful historical experiences, the paper will provide suggestions for future sustainable urban development.

New Challenges to Urbanization in China

With reform, Chinese urbanization makes an obvious progress. The urban quantity, urban scale, and urban population become more and more. Urban economy has ：become a more important component of the national economy. However, the process of urbanization is either in theory or in practice continually faced with serious new challenge. It is a focus on urban development in China.

Land tenure security,place satisfaction and loyalty in the peri-urban area of Ibadan City,Nigeria

Land tenure security is pertinent to achieving the sustainable development agenda in cities where land is needed and useful for development purposes.Sufficient empirical research has been done to prove the importance of tenure security for investment,resilience,conservation,food security,as well as health and well-being,but it has not been clarified if and how land tenure security could adequately influence place loyalty and satisfaction with the residential environment,as it is clear that place loyalty and satisfaction are pertinent to inclusive development.Using the case of Ibadan City,the study examined how different dimensions of tenure security could determine residents’place loyalty and satisfaction.The study employed a survey cross-sectional research design to distribute 514 structured questionnaires to household heads across 4 sampled peri-urban local government areas while 452 were retrieved for analysis.Hierarchical regression analysis model was employed to understand the association between tenure security dimensions and satisfaction(as model I)and loyalty(as model II).For model I,F=8.640,P=0.000,R=0.555,and R^(2)=0.308 were obtained;while for model II,F=9.157,P=0.001,R=0.415,and R^(2)=0.173 were acquired.This thus means that residents’place loyalty and satisfaction can partly be explained by tenure security.In particular,respondents with no eviction experience,recognized property rights,and invulnerable to eviction have higher odds of being satisfied and loyal.Therefore,we recommend protection,improvement,and upgrading of land tenure security as one of the means to promote place loyalty and satisfaction,which is essential to achieving inclusive and sustainable development.