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Experimentation-based Policymaking for Urban Regeneration in Shenzhen, China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 August 2023

De Tong ,
Shuang Yang  and
Yani Lai
De Tong
Affiliation:
Social Laboratory of Urban Spatial Governance and Policy Simulation at Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen Humanities and Social Sciences Key Research Bases in China, Shenzhen, China Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, China,
Shuang Yang
Affiliation:
Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, China,
Yani Lai*
Affiliation:
Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
*
Corresponding author: Yani Lai; Email: Lai.Yani@connect.polyu.hk
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Abstract

A growing appreciation of the potential benefits of experimentation to tame the complexities of urban transformation has led to an increase in related research activity. Building on a “practice-to-policy” experimentation-based framework, this paper investigates the adaptive policymaking process for urban regeneration in Shenzhen since the 2000s. It finds that “explorative experimentation” is used to identify a general direction in the absence of a clear route for the policy process, while “generative experimentation” is sequentially dedicated to specific issues for the improvement of the entire policy package within a particular reform. We argue that understanding the successive roles or hybrid functions of these two types of experiment adds new insights to the development rationales for Shenzhen's urban regeneration and provides inspiration for an experimental model of urban governance. Governments and policymakers can benefit from the experimentation-based approach, as presented in the Shenzhen case, to pursue policy innovation embedded in local contexts.

摘要

摘要

通过实验来解决城市转型中复杂问题的潜在优势得到了越来越广泛的认可。本文通过构建 “实践到政策”的实验分析框架，研究了 21 世纪初以来中国深圳市城市更新适应性的政策制定和发展过程。研究发现： “探索型实验”常应用于政策路径不明晰的情况下，以寻找改革的总体方向；而 “生成型实验”则是在改革方向明确后逐渐优化改革中的各类具体问题，以提升整个政策系统。我们认为两种实验的连续作用或混合使用，为深圳市城市更新的发展理论提供了新的见解，并为城市实验式的治理模式提供了灵感。各地政府和政策制定者可以从深圳案例所展现的基于实验的方法中受益，以追求嵌入当地背景的政策创新。

Keywords

experimental governancepolicy experimentationexplorative experimentationgenerative experimentationurban regenerationShenzhen实验式治理政策实验探索型实验生成型实验城市更新深圳
Type
Research Article
Information
The China Quarterly , First View , pp. 1 - 18
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of SOAS University of London

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