Power space and governance performance: An analysis based on the Shanghai Urban Neighborhood Survey

Why do communities in different spatial areas display different types of governance performance? Applying the perspective of spatial theory, this paper proposes an analytical concept of “power space”. The concept refers to the distance between a community and the municipal administrative power center. Based on data drawn from the Shanghai Urban Neighborhood Survey, this study examines the variation in governance performance across communities located in different areas of the spatial structure of city power, and analyzes the causes and mechanisms underlying these differences. The study suggests that the spatial distance between the community and the center of governance power is not merely physical and geographical in nature but also social and political. We find that the distance to the center of power has a significant effect on the types of community governance performance that are easily observable, but little effect on those that are less perceptible. This reveals that power space exerts a strong effect on phenomena that can be easily recognized by higher-level officials, but not on phenomena that are less visible but nevertheless appreciated by the residents. Such a pattern can be explained by the current governance performance assessment system and incentive mechanism. Power space exerts an influence through the mechanisms of public resource allocation and governance performance benchmarks, which are equally applicable to other areas of social governance. In sum, this study contributes to the understanding of the underlying logic of grassroots social governance in contemporary China.