Everyone has a voice in conflict resolution
Print Edition
RESIDENTS typically turn to neighborhood committees for help when they have problems. Disputes figure prominently in the workload.
There’s a new twist to the traditional method of handling micro-issues in Songyunshui Gardens in the Fangsong Community, a neighborhood of more than 5,600 residents.
‘Autonomous neighborhood’
Songyunshui Gardens has become the first “autonomous neighborhood” in Songjiang by adopted a “self-rule” system whereby problems are resolved on a neighborhood-wide basis.
The “Guidebook for Resident Autonomy,” distributed to each household, sets out the details of the pioneering program. For example, all disputes go to a conference that includes representatives of residents, the neighborhood committee, the owners, the property management company and an “autonomy” team.
Sometimes issues are put out for even wider public discussion and feedback.
One of the first problems handled by the new system related to daily trash collection. The property developer had installed a communal trash center in a nearby primary school. Parents strongly objected to traffic from heavy garbage trash trucks disturbing students. The opposition ended up in fistfights as some residents tried to stop the trucks.
Last March, after a conference and a public hearing on the problem, a new trash center was built, then covered in vines and morning glories to conceal it behind greenery.
Successful examples
“Our residents have the final say on every issue,” said Shen Qin, director of Songyunshui Gardens neighborhood committee.
Another issue that was successfully resolved was related to a supermarket slated for conversion to a restaurant by a resident named Liu Chuankai. His plans were initially opposed by the neighbors who worried about fumes and noise. Liu agreed to a solution that would reduce both pollutants, and the restaurant plans were allowed to proceed.
The “autonomy system” has been so successful that the community plans to expand its scope to encompass a broader range of issues, including environmental protection, culture and art, and services for low-income families.
Other neighborhoods, such as nearby Jianghong and Lanqiao, are planning to follow Songyunshui Gardens’ lead and set up their own autonomy systems.
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