The challenge of managing small, aging residential compounds with limited households, small scale, difficulty in attracting property services, and inadequate maintenance has become a prominent issue in grassroots governance. To tackle this pressing livelihood concern, the Political Consultative Conference of Dengkou County, Bayannur City, has proactively fulfilled its duties. Through committee member research, suggestions, and multi-party consultations and supervision, it has promoted the implementation of a new model for old neighborhoods: "removing walls to merge courtyards and adopting a zone-based property management trusteeship." This approach, using a "larger leading smaller" contiguous trusteeship model, precisely addresses the governance dilemma of old neighborhoods, ensuring that practical livelihood projects achieve tangible results.

"Previously, our compound lacked professional property management, with vehicles parked chaotically and garbage piling up, leaving us with no outlet for complaints. Now, after removing walls to merge courtyards, we share the property resources of a larger compound, resulting in a clean, bright environment and a significantly improved living experience," said Sister Wang, a resident of the Lüyuan Compound, who has personally witnessed the transformation. To accurately understand the real situation of old neighborhood governance and respond to residents' demands, the Dengkou County Political Consultative Conference organized committee members to conduct a comprehensive visit to all 99 residential compounds in the county. The research found that over half of the old neighborhoods rely on self-governance by residents. Small compounds face high costs and unsustainable prospects in independently attracting property services, with common issues including aging facilities, parking shortages, blocked fire access, and delayed cleaning, leaving residents' long-standing concerns unresolved.

Committee members conducted research in old neighborhoods, as shown in a file photo. Based on the research findings, the county consultative conference analyzed governance bottlenecks, compiled residents' expectations, and produced a "Proposal Consultation Report on Promoting the Removal of Walls to Merge Courtyards and Zone-Based Property Trusteeship in Old Neighborhoods." The proposal recommended breaking down wall barriers between compounds, integrating adjacent courtyard resources, leveraging high-quality, established property services to manage scattered old neighborhoods, building a smart supervision platform, and establishing a long-term neighborhood governance mechanism to provide a precise solution for improving the quality and efficiency of old neighborhoods.

To facilitate the implementation of the proposal, the county consultative conference followed up with ongoing consultations and supervision, coordinating with the housing and construction department, the property service center, communities, and property enterprises to form a collaborative governance system. During the renovation process, a "one-size-fits-all" approach was firmly rejected, with full respect for residents' wishes. To address concerns from some residents about wall removal, committee members, along with community workers, visited households one by one to explain policies, detailing benefits such as shared resources and enhanced safety. This gradually eased residents' doubts and won their support. Through collaborative efforts, several old neighborhoods in the area successfully removed dividing walls, clearing fire access and road networks, and enabling the sharing of public resources like parking spaces, fitness areas, and water supply and drainage networks. This thoroughly resolved the issues of fragmented resources and uneven facilities in old neighborhoods.

"The roads are wider, safety is assured, and leisure facilities are accessible nearby. We truly benefit from the renovation," said a resident of the Jinxiuyuan Compound. Currently, the Xinyuan Compound and the Dushi Huating Compound, Lüyuan and Jinxiuyuan, and the Dengbin Compound areas have completed the wall removal and courtyard merging transformation. Through the model of "larger compounds leading smaller ones, contiguous trusteeship, and zone-based co-governance," the governance challenge of small, old neighborhoods where "property services cannot enter, manage poorly, or stay" has been completely resolved.