The Adaptive Transformation of Mega Cities to Digitalized Social Governance: A Case Study of Block Data Management in Shenzhen

Social governance in China has been transformed with the advancement of technology and development of the society. The studies of social governance transformation in China primarily focus on the behavior, outcome and strengths and weaknesses of grassroots governments in the digitalization of social governance but ignore the investigation of the process and its internal factors. Adopting the adaptive governance theory, this study analyzes the case of block data governance in Shenzhen and argues that data has become an important asset for social governance reform, leading the innovation of social governance and pushing the adaptive transformation of social governance of mega cities. Attention has to be paid to the legitimacy, reliability and sharing of data in order to promote cooperation among government agencies, participation from social sectors, and the institutional design and policy innovation of digital technology application.