What are the social governance issues in the process of urbanization?

Urbanization is a very complex process of economic and social development, accompanied by profound changes in economic forms and social structures. Since reform and opening up, China has entered a period of rapid urbanization and industrialization. After more than thirty years of development, the urbanization rate has grown from 17.92% in the early days of reform and opening up to 53.73% in 2013. If judged purely by the urbanization rate, it has increased by about one percentage point per year on average, which can be described as very rapid development with outstanding achievements. But if judged by the specific content of urbanization, its development is very unbalanced. For example, in terms of economic structure, industrial forms and population concentration, urbanization has developed very rapidly; but in terms of public services, social security and governance capacity, the level of urbanization is relatively lagging. So there is a view that if the roughly 200 million migrant workers residing permanently in cities were excluded, China's real urbanization rate would be only about 35%. Overall, no matter from what angle or by what method it is measured, more than half of China's population already works and lives in cities, and this is an indisputable fact. The huge population entering China's urbanization and industrialization process has caused profound changes in social relations and social structures, accompanied by a profound transformation of governance concepts and governance mechanisms. Simply put, this includes the following aspects:

First, social governance in the process of urbanization must adapt to profound changes in social relations and social structures. The process of urbanization and industrialization is also a process of profound adjustment of social relations and social structures. In traditional agricultural society, social relations and social structures were relatively stable, belonging to a civilization of acquaintances, or what might be called a society of etiquette and custom; the corresponding governance mechanisms were also based on the characteristics and laws of a civilization of acquaintances, with a relatively large element of rule by man, such as emphasis on moral education and restraint, and gentry elites had a great status and role in social governance. But in the period of urbanization and industrialization, social relations and social structures undergo profound changes, and the civilization system transforms into a civilization of strangers, or what might be called a legal-rational society. Social governance then relies more on institutions and rules, that is, the rule of law becomes the foundation and core of social governance.

Second, it is necessary to establish a public service and social security system compatible with urbanization. The rapid development of urbanization and industrialization creates enormous demand in two respects for public services and social security. First, a large population and industries concentrate in cities, requiring a corresponding public service system as support. In areas such as medical care, education, transportation and the environment, corresponding public service systems need to be established to avoid resource shortages, traffic congestion and other situations that may result from population concentration. Second, changes in social relations and social structures create new demands for public services and social security. For example, in traditional society, the family was an important carrier of society and undertook many social functions. But in the period of urbanization and industrialization, family structure undergoes profound changes, with trends toward smaller households and fewer children, and many problems that could once be solved by families and intergenerational help gradually become explicit social problems, creating pressure and risks for social governance. For example, the care and nursing of elderly people living alone will become a common difficulty facing society, and if typical incidents occur, they will have a serious negative impact on the image of the government. Therefore, in the process of urbanization and industrialization, the social structure and division of labor system will also undergo profound changes; social structures such as the family and clan will weaken or disappear, and many functions separated from the family or clan need to be undertaken by the government or society, thus creating new demands for public services and social security.

Third, it is necessary to stimulate the vitality of social organizations and give play to their functions and role in social governance. In China's process of urbanization and industrialization, the way society is organized has undergone profound changes, posing important challenges to social governance. The process of urbanization is also a process of profound transformation of economic and social institutions. During the planned economy period, cities implemented the work-unit system, with the work unit as the main carrier for managing society. With the gradual deepening of market economy system reform, the traditional work-unit system has tended to disintegrate. Correspondingly, the social governance system based on the work-unit system has also basically disintegrated. This part of social governance functions needs to be decomposed and undertaken by the government, the market and society, and a large part of it needs to be undertaken by social forces. However, China's social organizations have developed relatively lagging behind, causing a large number of social members, after leaving their work units, to become dispersed and atomized social individuals. Social governance needs to face a large number of dispersed social individuals, and the difficulty and cost of management are very high. Therefore, the decision on comprehensively deepening reform adopted at the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee proposed stimulating the vitality of social organizations and giving play to their role; public services and matters suitable for provision and resolution by social organizations should be handed over to social organizations. By implementing the separation of government and society and advancing social autonomy, the social governance problems in the process of urbanization can be solved.

In addition, the governance problems of rural society, although not belonging to the category of urban social governance, are closely related to urbanization and industrialization and also require great attention. Especially during the period of rapid urbanization and industrialization, a large number of young people enter cities, causing serious problems in the rural population structure, with severe aging and hollowing out, and rural areas lack young talent, leading to unsmooth grassroots governance mechanisms and relatively weak government governance capacity; the stability and development of rural grassroots society both face many difficulties and pressures. Therefore, the governance problems of rural society must also be included in the comprehensive consideration of urbanization, and new urbanization should be taken as the guide to promote integrated urban-rural development.

In short, urbanization is a complex process of social development that requires coordinated consideration and systematic arrangement. In early 2014, the state promulgated the National New Urbanization Plan (2014-2020), putting forward the development concepts of "people-oriented, synchronization of the four modernizations, optimized layout, ecological civilization and cultural inheritance," and setting out macro-level, strategic and fundamental planning arrangements for new urbanization and integrated urban-rural development. In particular, the "people-oriented" concept is of great significance for guiding and improving social governance in the process of urbanization. New urbanization and integrated urban-rural development will pay more attention to the balanced development and comprehensive improvement of urbanization. The core of urbanization is people, and moreover the all-round development and progress of people, including not only improvements in economic level and material conditions, but also all-round improvements in quality of life, fair protection, development opportunities, feelings of happiness and other aspects.