Exploring Innovative Pathways for Property Management in Old Residential Communities from a Collaborative Governance Perspective

With the deepening of urbanization in China, property management challenges in old residential communities have become a critical barrier to the modernization of urban governance. This study systematically analyzes the core contradictions in old residential communities, including aging infrastructure, weak resident autonomy, structural funding shortages, and inadequate legal-policy alignment, based on nationwide surveys and case studies from Yunnan and other regions. A collaborative governance framework is proposed, integrating “government guidance, market operation, technological empowerment, and resident participation” to break the “low-efficiency equilibrium lock-in” (i.e., the vicious cycle of low fees, poor services, and fee defaults). By combining fiscal investment with social capital, promoting smart renovations, cultivating autonomous organizations, and refining legal systems, this research provides theoretical and practical paradigms for transforming property management in old residential communities toward sustainability. The findings aim to inform the modernization of grassroots social governance.