The project will provide a comparative study of indigenous community planning and governance in the periurban Regions of China, Canada and Australia. Based on in-depth case studies, the core of this project will examine in what ways urbanization has reshaped the landscapes of rural property rights reforms, social welfare provision and community participation. Seeking a comparative perspective to understanding these issues, our study has both practical and theoretical implications. On the practical front, the findings of this study will identify the lessons and the best practice for mutual learning, through their new insights on under what specific circumstances local communities have achieved their specific outcome in planning and government. Such findings will also inform community capacity building as well as policy reforms towards better protecting the interests of villagers who are struggled for urban transition. On the academic front, the insights of this project about the regional diversity of community planning and governance will refine our current understanding of the actual effects of urbanization decentralization on state-society relationship in different institutional and cultural contexts. This will eventually lead to the advancement of the existing community planning and governance theories which have been primarily drawn from western experiences.

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