ANNUAL CONGRESS 2025

Data Governance as a Transformative Tool: Stakeholder Dynamics and Challenges in Beijing’s Urban Reform

Not scheduled

20m

Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul

Oral Track 04 | GOVERNANCE

Speaker

Mr Jiaqi Wu (School of Architecture, Tsinghua University)

Description

As data becomes a pivotal element in urban development, data governance has emerged as a transformative framework for allocating decision-making authority and responsibilities. Data governance is a system that allocates decision-making authority and responsibilities through data, and it has become increasingly common in the transformation of governance in megacities around the world. Unlike traditional governance, data governance introduces new processes of data collection, analysis, and service provision, redefining power dynamics among stakeholders. While existing studies often emphasize technical dimensions—such as data rights, analytical accuracy, and service platforms—less attention has been given to the socio-political implications of data-driven governance, particularly the emergence of new stakeholders and high-frequency decision-making networks.
This study examines Beijing’s "Urban Physical Examination" reform, initiated in 2018, as a pioneering example of urban data governance in China’s big data era. Based on a three-year participatory investigation, including 79 interviews with stakeholders such as municipal departments, data service providers, planning institutions, and grassroots communities, the research employs Actor-Network Theory and semantic analysis to uncover the motivations, governance mechanisms, and challenges of this governance model.
Key findings include:
1. Beijing’s data governance practices are driven by three primary motivations: (1) top-down political and industrial pressures on municipal leaders, (2) resistance from municipal departments rooted in outdated data practices, and (3) strong support from data service providers seeking strategic opportunities.
2. The governance model empowers new stakeholders, particularly municipal planning institutions, which orchestrate a complex network of actors, including telecom operators, social media platforms, urban survey firms, universities, small data firms, and municipal data departments.
3. A significant challenge is data opacity, which has created rent-seeking opportunities for data firms. High-frequency urban indicator assessments have centralized decision-making power while pressuring grassroots governments to align with data providers through transactional relationships.
This research highlights the transformative potential of data as a governance tool, revealing its capacity to reshape stakeholder relationships and urban governance structures. It also addresses critical challenges, such as ensuring data transparency and equitable power distribution, offering lessons for global megacities navigating the complexities of data-driven governance.

References

[1] Paskaleva, K., Evans, J., Martin, C., et al. (2017) Data governance in the sustainable smart city. Informatics, 4(4), 41.
[2] Tan, S. Y., & Taeihagh, A. (2020). Smart city governance in developing countries: A systematic literature review. sustainability, 12(3), 899.