Against the backdrop of China’s rapid urbanisation over the past 30 years, this book examines social governance at the grassroots level, drawing on fieldwork conducted in a selection of representative Chinese megacities.

This unprecedented urban transformation has rendered traditional social governance models obsolete. This has pushed grassroots governance to evolve amid the tension between freedom and order, and between fragmentation and integration. Using an ‘impact-response’ analytical framework, the book explores how government organisations at the grassroots level in major cities have adapted their institutions, mechanisms and strategies for social governance in response to urban changes and emerging problems. The book chronicles the reform of grassroots governance in megacities and examines structural changes from four major dimensions: reform pressure, institutional supply, operational logic and governance transformation. It also highlights the roles of the governing party and government during this transformation. The book elucidates the mechanisms and logic underlying this transformation. The book also investigates strategic approaches to improving governance adaptability, while analysing reform challenges and potential future directions.

This work will serve as a valuable reference for scholars, policymakers and students of public administration, political science and sociology, particularly those interested in contemporary Chinese social governance.