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The Weaknesses of Civic Territorial Organizations: Civic Engagement and Homeowners Associations in Urban China

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  • Qiang Fu
  • Nan Lin

Abstract

China's massive transformation in urban governance, which is characterized by breaking the link between workplace and residence and consolidating state territorial agencies at the grassroots level, has profound implications for urban residents. While community building is employed as a deliberate (top-down) approach to restore a governable urban society, the establishment, development and problems of bottom-up civic territorial organizations — homeowners associations — are garnering increased attention from academia. Based on field research conducted in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Meizhou in Guangdong Province from 2009 to 2011, we show that civic engagement, a necessary condition for the development of homeowners associations, is inadequate across urban communities. To understand why, we identified and analyzed three elements — lack of awareness of partitioned property ownership, the hidden costs of civic engagement and deficiency in social capital — as factors that impede civic engagement across urban communities. These elements also provide yardsticks for scholars to evaluate why, whether and how homeowners (dis-)engage from neighborhood affairs.

Suggested Citation

  • Qiang Fu & Nan Lin, 2014. "The Weaknesses of Civic Territorial Organizations: Civic Engagement and Homeowners Associations in Urban China," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(6), pages 2309-2327, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ijurrs:v:38:y:2014:i:6:p:2309-2327
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/1468-2427.12080
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Le Tang & Fengqin Zhou & Xueliang Feng & Yali Luo, 2018. "Collective Civic Petitions in Urban Neighborhoods: A Comparative Study between Two Different-Tier Chinese Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-17, December.
    2. Jinliao He & Yuan Zhang & Zhenzhen Yi, 2023. "Towards resilient neighbourhood governance: social tensions in Shanghai’s gated communities before and during the pandemic," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-12, December.
    3. Chan, Randolph C.H. & Mak, Winnie W.S., 2020. "Empowerment for civic engagement and well-being in emerging adulthood: Evidence from cross-regional and cross-lagged analyses," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 244(C).
    4. Tianke Zhu & Xigang Zhu & Jian Jin, 2021. "Grid Governance in China under the COVID-19 Outbreak: Changing Neighborhood Governance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-18, June.
    5. Ying Wang & Nick Clarke, 2021. "FOUR MODES OF NEIGHBOURHOOD GOVERNANCE: The View from Nanjing, China," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(3), pages 535-554, May.
    6. Zhilin Liu & Sainan Lin & Tingting Lu & Yue Shen & Sisi Liang, 2023. "Towards a constructed order of co-governance: Understanding the state–society dynamics of neighbourhood collaborative responses to COVID-19 in urban China," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 60(9), pages 1730-1749, July.
    7. Fu, Qiang, 2018. "Bringing urban governance back in: Neighborhood conflicts and depression," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 1-9.
    8. Qiang Fu, 2016. "The persistence of power despite the changing meaning of homeownership: An age-period-cohort analysis of urban housing tenure in China, 1989–2011," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 53(6), pages 1225-1243, May.

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