Structural Tensions and Adaptive Innovations in the Modernization of Urban Neighborhood Governance

The modernization of urban neighborhood governance in China is a complex and dynamic process driven by the interconstruction of institutional, resource-based, and technological elements. This process is consistently shaped by a dual logic of structural tensions and adaptive innovations. Institutional elements delineate governance boundaries through authoritative rules and bureaucratic logics; resource elements depend on fiscal allocations and social capital to sustain governance capacity; and technological elements reshape governance processes through efficiency-driven mechanisms. Since the governance paradigm began shifting in 1991 from single-service provision to a comprehensive restructuring of governance space, the modernization of neighborhood governance has undergone three stages:experimental exploration, comprehensive deepening, and transformative empowerment. Despite periodic achievements, this process has encountered persistent challenges, including the mismatch between institutional rigidity and the fluidity of societal demands, the paradox of resource intensification undermining autonomous capacity, and the conflict between technocratic efficiency and the detachment from governance values. Moving forward, the modernization of neighborhood governance must enhance institutional resilience through flexible governance by rebalancing responsibilities and introducing dynamic adjustment mechanisms to transcend administrative dominance; activate social capital by addressing governance pain points and constructing an endogenous participatory network characterized by “primary-auxiliary collaboration”; and recalibrate the role of technology through a human-centered orientation that enables mutual adaptation between algorithmic rules and local knowledge. Ultimately, adaptive innovation can be achieved through the synergistic resonance of institutional resilience, resource adaptation, and technological inclusiveness.