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Short abstract:

By discussing the (dis)continuities of two Chinese urban forms: the danwei (work unit) and the grid, this paper argued that the grid, while serving as an organizational continuity of danwei, it platformized the grassroot governance and created an experiemental urban space.

Long abstract:

This paper explores the transformative impact of digital technologies on grassroots governance in China, specifically examining the shift from the traditional danwei (work unit) structure in the socialist cities (see Lu, 2006) to the contemporary grid model. The grid is conceptualized as a modern manifestation of danwei, representing a fundamental urban form in present-day Chinese cities.

Initiated as a national policy in 2013, gridification gained prominence post-2020, propelled by the completion of nationwide digital infrastructure and the imperative for efficient grassroots governance during the Covid-19 pandemic. Gridification refers to the redivision of urban land parcels into grids, the reorganization of grassroots officials into three levels of grid operators, recording resource information within in digital databases, and managing grassroots affairs through a central dispatching platform.

Through a comparative analysis of the grid and danwei, this paper underscores the organizational continuity between the two while highlighting the influence of a Chinese platform mindset (Chen, 2020) on grassroots governance through datafication, quantification, responsiveness, and automation. This paper also mentioned the future challenges posed by gridification within the institutionalized system of current grassroots governance.

The article posits that both danwei and the grid constitute endeavors of "creative destruction" (Schumpeter, 1942) in contemporary China's urban planning and grassroots governance. These initiatives have transformed urban China into a vast experimental site. The grid marks a departure from a productive urban space to a model promoting high-efficiency grassroots governance and economic incentives, addressing the challenges posed by significant immigrant labor and the imperative for economic transformation.