Urban governance, the adjustment of administration and spatial integration: a case study of Changzhou
城市管治、区划调整与空间整合——以常州市区为例

Although the current practice of administrative division adjustment in China promotes regional governance and urbanization economies,it does not effectively resolve the conflicts between central city and surrounding county-level cities.This paper examines the influence of administrative division adjustment on economic development in Changzhou,Jiangsu Province,and analyzes problems such as key sectors,spatial distribution and location choice related to the city's development zones.This paper focuses on industrial and urban spatial development issues arising after the administrative merger in 2002,which converted Wujin into a district of Changzhou.The city in this case has fast-growing market forces but lacks efficient governance,which is a quite common situation for cities in the Yangtze River Delta. We examined the major institutional,policy,socio-cultural,and spatial planning factors underlying these problems.We argue that the incongruence between administrative division adjustment and the existing institutional framework is the fundamental source of conflicts among the constituting parts of the city.Inconsistencies among spatial plans made by different government bodies are manifestations of these divides.They also undermine implementation of regional plans and policies. Finally,from the perspectives of institution,policy,and space,we explored strategies for the spatial integration of economic development in Changzhou.Institutional adjustment is essential for the city to achieve sustainable development and enhance economic competitiveness.Policy making should emphasize regional development goals,and policymaking process should combine the bottom-up and top-down approaches to create a good framework for diverse but coordinated economic activities.The regional perspective should also guide the spatial integration,and spatial planning that has strong legal and intellectual bases will play a key role in achieving city-wide coordinated development in Changzhou.