Social media for public participation in urban planning in China based on place attachment-- a case of the Guangzhou banyan tree incident

Given the current low level of public participation and limited channels of participation in Chinese urban planning. Social media has become an important platform for public participation in China. Taking the banyan tree relocation and felling incident in Guangzhou City as an example. This paper exp...

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Main Authors: Yifei Ouyang, Xiaohe Bai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-01-01
Series:Frontiers in Built Environment
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2024.1523576/full
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author Yifei Ouyang
Yifei Ouyang
Xiaohe Bai
author_facet Yifei Ouyang
Yifei Ouyang
Xiaohe Bai
author_sort Yifei Ouyang
collection DOAJ
description Given the current low level of public participation and limited channels of participation in Chinese urban planning. Social media has become an important platform for public participation in China. Taking the banyan tree relocation and felling incident in Guangzhou City as an example. This paper explores how social media-facilitated public participation can effectively influence urban planning decisions through case study and discourse power analysis. It is found that place attachment may serve as a significant motivator for public participation in urban planning. Social media plays a dual role in this process. On one hand, it can improve the effectiveness of public participation in urban planning and ultimately fulfil the role of advancing democratic government decision-making. On the other hand, the paper reveals challenges such as information homogenization, emotionalized communication, and elite dominance. These issues underscore the need for further improvements in regulatory mechanisms and technical support. Therefore, future urban planning policies should take people's emotions into account, and also need to accelerate the construction of improved systems, mechanisms and technologies for social media public participation to achieve high-level public participation goals.
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spelling doaj-art-f0cd5305c2f74a628b16a0a87d98410a2025-01-06T06:59:22ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Built Environment2297-33622025-01-011010.3389/fbuil.2024.15235761523576Social media for public participation in urban planning in China based on place attachment-- a case of the Guangzhou banyan tree incidentYifei Ouyang0Yifei Ouyang1Xiaohe Bai2Department of Art Design and Creative Industry, Nanfang College Guangzhou, Guanghzou, ChinaFaculty of Innovation and Design, City University of Macau, Macau, ChinaFaculty of Innovation and Design, City University of Macau, Macau, ChinaGiven the current low level of public participation and limited channels of participation in Chinese urban planning. Social media has become an important platform for public participation in China. Taking the banyan tree relocation and felling incident in Guangzhou City as an example. This paper explores how social media-facilitated public participation can effectively influence urban planning decisions through case study and discourse power analysis. It is found that place attachment may serve as a significant motivator for public participation in urban planning. Social media plays a dual role in this process. On one hand, it can improve the effectiveness of public participation in urban planning and ultimately fulfil the role of advancing democratic government decision-making. On the other hand, the paper reveals challenges such as information homogenization, emotionalized communication, and elite dominance. These issues underscore the need for further improvements in regulatory mechanisms and technical support. Therefore, future urban planning policies should take people's emotions into account, and also need to accelerate the construction of improved systems, mechanisms and technologies for social media public participation to achieve high-level public participation goals.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2024.1523576/fullurban planningpublic participation eventsdemocratic decision-makingemotional factorsplace attachment
spellingShingle Yifei Ouyang
Yifei Ouyang
Xiaohe Bai
Social media for public participation in urban planning in China based on place attachment-- a case of the Guangzhou banyan tree incident
Frontiers in Built Environment
urban planning
public participation events
democratic decision-making
emotional factors
place attachment
title Social media for public participation in urban planning in China based on place attachment-- a case of the Guangzhou banyan tree incident
title_full Social media for public participation in urban planning in China based on place attachment-- a case of the Guangzhou banyan tree incident
title_fullStr Social media for public participation in urban planning in China based on place attachment-- a case of the Guangzhou banyan tree incident
title_full_unstemmed Social media for public participation in urban planning in China based on place attachment-- a case of the Guangzhou banyan tree incident
title_short Social media for public participation in urban planning in China based on place attachment-- a case of the Guangzhou banyan tree incident
title_sort social media for public participation in urban planning in china based on place attachment a case of the guangzhou banyan tree incident
topic urban planning
public participation events
democratic decision-making
emotional factors
place attachment
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2024.1523576/full
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AT xiaohebai socialmediaforpublicparticipationinurbanplanninginchinabasedonplaceattachmentacaseoftheguangzhoubanyantreeincident