Evolution logic of urban spatial growth governance and its enlightenment in China: From a perspective of spatial governance

As the governance modernization and new-type urbanization deepens, China's urbanization process is gradually entering the "second half". Understanding the policy practices and transformation logic of China's urban spatial growth in a systematic perspective is significant in clarifying the enhancement path of future urban spatial growth governance. This study, based on the perspective of spatial governance, focuses on the basic elements of urban spatial growth governance such as goals, actors, methods, and objects. It comprehensively examines the evolution of China's urban spatial growth governance since the reform and opening-up, and analyzes the underlying logic of the transformation. The study finds that the governance of urban spatial growth in China has gone through four main stages, with the multidimensional shifts in governance goals, subject relations, governance methods, and spatial objects behind each stage constituting the basic storyline of governance evolution, influenced by a combination of macro environment, system reforms, spatial issues, and technological changes. In the future, clarifying the governance concepts of urban spatial growth in the new stage, shaping interactive and collaborative subject relations, improving institutional systems and innovative technological tools, and designing differentiated governance strategies based on the characteristics of spatial objects will become important directions for enhancing China's urban spatial governance capacity and even spatial governance modernization. • Urban spatial growth governance encompasses multiple dimensions, including goals, actors, methods, and objects. • China's urban spatial growth governance has mainly gone through four periods of evolution since the reform and opening-up. • Evolution of governance is influenced by macro environment, system reforms, spatial issues, and technological changes. • Clear concepts, collaborative relations, improved methods, and differentiated strategies will be important.