RESEARCH ON THE GOVERNANCE OF CITY INTEGRATION: A CASE OF GUANGZHOU-FOSHAN
LI Xun1, WU Yi-fei2, WU Rui-tong3
1. School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China;
2. The Department of Geography, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China;
3. Lay-Out Planning Consultants Ltd., Shenzhen 518049, China
Abstract Recent decades, the profound revolution in transportation and communication technology has significantly extended the flow of production factors to a larger scale, thus restructuring the urban system in the global context. Specifically, the state's ability of controlling capital has continued to be transferred to global or supranational levels, and the production capacity and industrial competitiveness have continued to shift to local levels. In this context, it is increasingly impossible for the central government to effectively organize and coordinate productive activities.Based on the theory of metropolitan governance, this paper analyzes the trajectory of models of regional governance from the mandatory adjustment of administration to the negotiatory corporation between cities, thereby highlighting the increasing significance of the integrative development. From this point, urban integration, which can represent the characteristics of modern governance, will become the principle mode of regional governance in the future. This paper establishes a theoretical frame for integrative governance, which is constituted by three elements of consensus, channels and incentives. In the case of Guangzhou-Foshan regions, based on research methods of field trips and interviews, this paper discusses the differences of administrative systems between Guangzhou and Foshan, before claiming that the misplacement of management in different government levels has become the underling reason for the ineffectiveness of multi-level governance between Guangzhou and Foshan.
2016, Vol. 31 
