A Study On Governance Structure Of Residential Estate In Polycentric Perspective

The emergence of residential estate follows China's housing system reform. Thestandard of property service and the comfort of residence are largely determined bythe governance structure in residential estates. In a residential estate, residents'committee, owners'committee and property management company are three mainbodies of community governance, and the interrelationships among them incarnatethe governance structure.In a traditional urban community, residents'committee is the only administratoras well as public service supplier, and it is housing administrative institution thattakes charge of houses and utilities repair; while residential estate is based on market,property right and contract—a new pattern for community governance.However, the establishment of this pattern is a dynamic evolution. Both owners'committee and property management company are far from mature. How to protectowners'legal rights? How to offer better property service as well as to obtain goodbusiness income? These are some new questions to the new roles.On the other hand, residents'committee has being marginalized due to itsrigidity and function overlap with owners'committee and property managementcompany. How to establish new relationships with owners'committee as well asproperty management company? How to promote community autonomy? These aresome new questions to the old role.This paper is trying to describe the roles and interrelationships of residents'committee, owners'committee and property management company in a polycentricperspective, and to give corresponding policy suggestions for promoting governancestructure in residential estates.