Aging residential areas are undergoing a transformation that goes far beyond simple infrastructure upgrades, focusing instead on rebuilding neighborhood bonds and enhancing grassroots governance. In Linfen Road Subdistrict, authorities have been expanding the "Linzhi Li" party-building governance brand, empowering five resident committees with a collaborative, professionally supported approach. By using community self-governance funds to address residents' everyday concerns, they are mobilizing diverse stakeholders to participate in co-building, co-governance, and shared benefits, breathing new life into old neighborhoods.

In Lane 100, Lingnan Road, within the subdistrict, the iterative upgrade of a small community garden serves as a microcosm of this grassroots governance model. Once a neglected, barren corner that looked desolate in autumn and winter, the "Yimei Small Garden" has been transformed into a vibrant, year-round scenic space bustling with activities and offering convenient services. This "reverse aging" not only enhances the community's living environment but also embodies the warmth and wisdom of governance through scenes of collective participation, continuously boosting residents' sense of fulfillment, happiness, and security.

Addressing Environmental Shortcomings: A Shift from "Usable" to "Livable"

Lane 100, Lingnan Road, is a typical old neighborhood where the small public garden was once the primary leisure area for residents. In 2024, the residents' committee initiated a preliminary renovation, leveling the ground and adding benches to change the previously cluttered and dilapidated look, creating a basic resting space for neighbors to chat and relax at their doorstep. Following this basic upgrade, the clean environment received unanimous approval from residents, but subtle drawbacks in daily use gradually emerged. The renovated garden had a limited variety of plants and a monotonous landscape, with vegetation withering in autumn and winter, leaving the space lifeless and failing to meet residents' desire for a high-quality, livable environment.

In 2025, to address these environmental shortcomings, upgrade living quality, and further shorten the distance between neighbors, the residents' committee of Lane 100, Lingnan Road, leveraged the subdistrict's "self-governance fund" to initiate a 2.0 upgrade of the garden. Moving beyond simple aesthetic renovation, this project abandoned the traditional model of "emphasizing hardware over content," and instead embraced the governance philosophy of "creating scenery to create life." The core design concept was to create a landscape for all four seasons, enriching plant varieties and optimizing the layout to build an immersive garden space that remains green and scenic year-round. "The garden was bare before, especially desolate in winter, so I didn't want to stay long. When I heard about the upgrade to plant four-season flowers, I was really looking forward to it," said Ms. Wang, a long-time resident who closely followed the renovation process. She believes the community garden is the most frequently used public space, and its quality directly impacts daily living happiness. "The renovation isn't just the committee's job; it's an upgrade for everyone's home."

Co-created by All: Every Scenic Spot Holds Neighborhood Warmth

The garden's transformation wasn't a single renovation project but a heartwarming event of full participation, with countless touching scenes unfolding quietly. Greening was a core part of this upgrade. To create a year-round scenic garden, the committee invited professional horticulturists for on-site guidance and organized community volunteers for collective planting. Everyone worked together in a coordinated effort, digging, planting, watering, and maintaining, personally planting flowers and shrubs like begonias and starflowers, sowing green vitality into the once monotonous and barren corner. To deepen the concept of green environmental protection and cultivate a civilized family tradition, the committee used the garden renovation as an opportunity to hold several parent-child environmental activities. Through fun formats like environmental knowledge classes and creative handicrafts from waste materials, the concept of green, low-carbon living and environmental care was introduced to countless households. Many parents brought their children to create eco-friendly crafts, learning about environmental protection through parent-child interaction and fostering a sense of guardianship for the community, allowing a new trend of civilization to take root. "This is my child's first time participating in community building. He was so happy, and seeing his own painted artwork in the garden gave him a great sense of achievement," said Ms. Li, a resident who participated in a painting activity with her child. She noted that such activities not only beautify the environment but also teach children about dedication and protection, while making neighbors more familiar and closer through collaboration.

A New Launch: The Small Garden Becomes a Community Hub of Happiness

After being honed by full participation, the Yimei Small Garden has completely shed its former monotony and desolation. The plants are now well-arranged, the landscape is diverse and rich, and the scenery features unique characteristics in each season, making it the most eye-catching highlight of the neighborhood. More importantly, this small garden is no longer just a landscape space; it has transformed into a community happiness hub integrating cultural dissemination, neighborly interaction, and convenient services, turning a beautiful environment into tangible public welfare. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the committee held a garden party and riddle-guessing event here, ingeniously combining traditional lantern riddles with plant science. This fusion of culture, fun, and education attracted a large number of residents, infusing the small garden with the warmth of life and cultural flavor. Empowering with convenience services, the garden now has both charm and warmth. To effectively solve residents' daily trivial matters and open the "last meter" of service, the committee established a monthly convenience service mechanism using the garden as a platform. It regularly offers down-to-earth services like health monitoring, small appliance repairs, and public knife sharpening, turning the refined landscape space into a service hub that brings warm services right to residents' doorsteps.

A Model for Co-governance: Unlocking a New Paradigm for Community Management

The transformation of Yimei Small Garden from a dilapidated corner to a neighborhood haven is not just an environmental upgrade but a vivid practice of multi-stakeholder collaborative community governance. Here, residents lead the entire process, make decisions together, and act as masters of their home; the residents' committee builds platforms, integrates resources, and unites forces from all sides; partner units provide support with funding and resources; the homeowners' association diligently fulfills its duties to protect owners' rights; and the property management provides attentive support, handling logistics and responding to residents' needs. The committee stated that it will continue to coordinate with various forces in the future to unlock more fun activities, ensuring this place offers not only beautiful scenery but also endless stories of neighborhood warmth. It also hopes everyone will jointly care for every plant in the community, allowing the garden to bloom with flowers in all seasons and remain vibrant year after year.