A joint effort: residents’ committee and sanitation governance practices in Shanghai’s Lilong neighbourhoods

This paper investigates China’s ongoing urban sanitation transitions and how the related practices are codeveloped between local Residents’ Committees and residents on the ground. China’s recent state-initiated reforms to reconceptualise state-society relationships has led to the emerging significance of grassroots self-governing and participatory urban regimes. Within this framework, we use Shanghai as an atypical case to focus on its lilong neighbourhoods where dilapidated sanitation infrastructure, insufficient facilities and high population density and mobility render complexity to everyday sanitation governance. We conduct an in-depth study in three of inner Shanghai’s lilong communities to dissect two key practices that support the municipal-initiated sanitation strategy. These are the everyday facilitation of public sanitation rules, and communications with regard to sanitation expectations. Our findings suggest that the nuanced interplay between the state, grassroots organisations and residents revolving around the transitioning sanitation provision vary depending on the design and implementation of local urban programmes. Sustainable sanitation governance requires considerations of the intersecting challenges derived from policies as well as the residents’ diverse background.