Responding to extreme weather with innovative urban social governance mechanisms driven by complex adaptive systems theory: The 7.20 Zhengzhou flood

Abstract To accurately grasp the logic and challenges of urban social governance during extreme weather disasters, this paper examines the 7.20 Heavy Rain Disaster in Zhengzhou, Henan, as a case study. After comprehensively reviewing the evolution of disasters and failures in emergency responses, several issues were identified in the urban social governance mechanisms for extreme weather risks, such as inadequate agility in adapting to extreme weather, limited effectiveness of grassroots governance, and insufficient overall coordination in handling extreme weather risks. Using complex adaptive systems theory, a framework is proposed for understanding the complex adaptive response of urban social governance to extreme weather risks. On the basis of this framework, the paper recommends innovative pathways for urban social governance to cope with extreme weather risks, including enhancing the agility of overall urban disaster response through digital empowerment, unleashing grassroots resilience in emergency responses by adjusting authority relationships, and improving intergovernmental coordination capacities by establishing standardized contingency plans.