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Bringing urban governance back in: Neighborhood conflicts and depression

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  • Fu, Qiang

Abstract

Urban governance and its impact on contentious politics have received remarkably little attention in existing studies on mental health. Drawing on a measure of neighborhood conflicts developed in a survey of thirty-nine urban neighborhoods in Guangzhou, China, this article investigates the potential link between urban governance and mental health. Net of sociodemographic, relational, and environmental measures, it finds that among residents' conflicts with different entities of urban governance, only those with local/grassroots governments are significantly associated with more depressive symptoms. Moreover, these subgroups of government-oriented conflicts associated with more depressive symptoms are related to neighborhood planning and communal properties, reflecting a dilemma in the Chinese model of urban governance. By offering a relational interpretation of neighborhood conflicts, this study not only challenges the previous view that community building in China improves mental health, but calls attention to the significance of urban governance in research on mental health.

Suggested Citation

  • Fu, Qiang, 2018. "Bringing urban governance back in: Neighborhood conflicts and depression," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 1-9.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:196:y:2018:i:c:p:1-9
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.10.035
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Yushu Zhu & Werner Breitung & Si-ming Li, 2012. "The Changing Meaning of Neighbourhood Attachment in Chinese Commodity Housing Estates: Evidence from Guangzhou," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 49(11), pages 2439-2457, November.
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    8. Qiang Fu, 2016. "The persistence of power despite the changing meaning of homeownership: An age-period-cohort analysis of urban housing tenure in China, 1989–2011," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 53(6), pages 1225-1243, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Pykett, Jessica & Campbell, Niyah & Fenton, Sarah-Jane & Gagen, Elizabeth & Lavis, Anna & Newbigging, Karen & Parkin, Verity & Williams, Jessy, 2023. "Urban precarity and youth mental health: An interpretive scoping review of emerging approaches," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    2. Tianlan Fu & Sanqin Mao, 2022. "Individual Social Capital and Community Participation: An Empirical Analysis of Guangzhou, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-14, June.

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