A new approach to addressing governance challenges in old residential communities
老旧社区如何从“脏乱差”到“和而美”？

This case is derived from Jingmingjiayuan Compound of Yuhuatai District of Nanjing City in Jiangsu Province. It was established in 2002 as Nanjing’s first compound that offered economically affordable housing. Its residents consist of two groups. One group are those who have resettled after their homes had been demolished. Since members of this group had lived in the same neighborhood before resettling at the Compound, they had certain emotional ties with one another. The other group are low-income residents either from Nanjing or from other places. The government played a leading role in providing funding and management in the process of community building at the Compound. Partly due to high proportion of vulnerable groups and groups with special needs to the Compound population, there have emerged many governance challenges related to issues such as public security, public facilities, and public spaces.
景明佳园社区是2002年南京市委、市政府确定建设的全市首家经济适用房社区。该小区中的居民，一部分是拆迁安置的，这些拆迁的居民曾经居住在一起，具有一定感情基础；另一部分是南京市低收入住房困难人口和外来流动人口，居民素质不高，经济能力较差。因此，在景明佳园社区的建设过程中，资金和管理都是政府主导。不仅如此，由于景明佳园社区中的困难群体、弱势群体、特殊群体的比例极大，出现了争吵斗殴、违章搭建、破墙开店、毁绿种菜等各类管理问题，社区治理难度大大增加了。

To address these challenges, Yuhuatai District Government collaborated with a social organization (i.e., “Wulixiangshequfuwuzhongxin”) as the third-party platform to develop social capital of the residents in the Compound. The organization took part of its management funding from the government and enterprises as the fund to which residents can apply to address certain needs of the Compound. It then offers residents suggestions and supports as needed for completing their self-initiated projects. This process has greatly enabled the formation of new social capital. The organization also designed and carried out an activity that encouraged residents to share freely their ideas about how their community could be built. This activity has helped residents to transform from those being called for to those willing to partake in community governance. Since social capital continues to develop in a virtuous circle, newly established social networks in the Compound have entered the phase of acquaintance society in which residents actively engage with self-governance in a sustainable manner.
为了解决社区治理问题，2013年景明佳园社区所在的区政府与“屋里厢社区服务中心”合作，以第三方社会组织的方式来助力政府管理。首先，第三方平台“屋里厢社区服务中心”从政府及企业提供的管理资金中抽出一部分作为“微基金”。居民可以根据社区建设需求，向“微基金”提出项目申请，获取资金支持。同时，在社区建设过程中，“屋里厢社区服务中心”会给予社区居民项目指导，协助完成项目。这极大的促进了新的社会资本形成。其次，第三方平台“屋里厢社区服务中心”还发起了社区营造活动，该活动为社区居民自主表达社区建设意见提供了平台，让居民的想法变为现实。居民从“被号召”参与，到自发自主参与，构建了社区自治的新局面。最后，在“屋里厢社区服务中心”的推动下，景明佳园社区的社会资本进入了可累积和可循环的良性过程，社区人际网络开始慢慢进入“熟人社会”的阶段，链接出了一张社区内部自治的健康网络。

This case presents a new approach to addressing governance challenges in old residential communities. That is, increasing residents’ self-governance capacities and sense of belonging by developing their social capital through the collaborations among five parties: 1) the government, 2) the third-party platform, 3) public benefit organizations, 4) experts from universities, and 5) residents. For one thing, this approach can facilitate generating new social capital particularly by the third-party platform’s integrating resources from various parties. For another, this approach, particularly through community building activities, can lead to sustainable development of social capital.
从景明佳园的案例中，作者发现了当前城市社区自治和社区归属感营造的新方法，就是采用“政府—第三方平台—公益组织—高校专家—居民”的模式。一方面第三方平台有利于整合多方资源，弥补社会资本短缺的问题；另一方面，该模式营造的社区活动可促进原本陌生的居民从相识到互信再到共赢，打造出“熟人社会”，完成社会资本从贫瘠到丰富的转变，发展出丰厚的社会资本。