Understanding self-organization and formal institutions in peri-urban transformations: A case study from Beijing

Abstract

This article explores the mechanisms of urban self-organization and the role of formal institutions in shaping peri-urban areas. A case study of Gaobeidian, a former rural village that is now part of Beijing, examines the mechanisms of change and the interdependent relations between institutions and bottom-up initiatives that drive peri-urban transformations. The paper presents two main contributions: (1) it identifies the differences between government-controlled planning, shared governance, self-governance and self-organization and how these intertwine in urban transformations; (2) it proposes three distinct roles played by institutions in relation to self-organization: triggering, constraining and enabling. The empirical study of this Chinese case will enrich the current debate on planning for self-organizing cities by revealing the impact of, and the various responses to, self-organization dynamics in a hierarchical institutional environment.

A city of gardeners: What happens when policy, planning, and populace co-create the food production of a novel peri-urban area?

“…Zooming in on new residents’ engagement in urban agriculture, our study revealed the tension between planning for bottom-up citizen participation and the actual performance of these participants in defiance of everyday reality (Zhang et al 2019). This study shows the residents evolving endeavour of incorporating – whether successfully or not – urban agriculture practices in their lifestyle.…”

The rejuvenation of urban community in China under COVID-19

“…For example, during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China, local spontaneous volunteers provided on-site assistances such as search and rescue operations, medical support, logistical support and even post-disaster reconstructions (Jiang, 2009). Recently, more and more spontaneous groups have arisen in urban China, especially in megacities, leading collective actions to protect the public interests, defending a safe and healthy living environment (Chen and Qu, 2020;Zhang et al, 2020).…”

“…However, the structure of the spontaneous groups is found to be not stable enough to sustain themselves and can be greatly impacted by the change of external conditions. Many groups thus encountered difficulties in adapting to the current community governance framework and transforming into a self-organization, or even self-governance or shared-governance (Zhang et al, 2020). Although many spontaneous groups were found to suspend their activities gradually, it remains to be seen whether and how they may affect the community governance and further contribute to urban resilience building in Shanghai and beyond.…”

“…Moreover, self-governance and shared-governance of urban community are based on shared values and collective actions, as well as good communication and cooperation between residents and residents, residents and the outside environment, and residents and the government (Zhang et al, 2020). Therefore, how to unlock the potential of spontaneous groups in catalyzing more profound transformative changes of urban community governance in China, such as empowering grassroots actors and motivating wider public participation in decision-making process, is an important question to be further explored.…”

Introduction

“…See alsoMoroni and Cozzolino (2020),Cozzolino and Moroni (2021),Rauws et al (2020) andZhang et al (2020).12 Without recognizing the social nature of the abandonment problem, one may jump to the conclusion that the issue must be solved for the sake of the "efficiency" of urban processes. The use of "efficiency" as a normative value to drive public decisions or planning endeavours is seen by some as a useful criterion(Lai 2005).…”