From Serving Neighbors to Recontrolling Urban Society

Abstract

In China, street offices and residents' committees are the neighborhood institutions which make up what is popularly and officially known as the local community. Under Mao, these structures performed overt political functions besides furnishing social services to local residents. Since 1987, neighborhood agencies have greatly expanded their service portfolio under the Ministry of Civil Affairs' “social welfare socialization policy” ( shehui fuli shehuihua zhengce). In the last few years, new programs such as community employment and the management of retired workers have been given strong emphasis. Not only this, but state community policy has also turned from service provision to community building. The authors argue that this new direction signals a reinvigoration of political and social management functions by the neighborhood as the state seeks to recontrol urban society under conditions of work unit collapse and rapid social transformation.