A Community-Based Layered Analytical Framework for One-Stop Governance Service Reforms in Chinese Smart Cities: Implications for Marginalized Communities

Abstract

One-stop governance service reforms are widely promoted in Chinese smart cities to improve the efficiency and accessibility of public service delivery. By integrating online platforms and offline service points, these reforms aim to simplify citizens’ interactions with government services. However, while they may improve service efficiency, they may also create new challenges for marginalized communities. Increased reliance on digital platforms and changes in offline service provision can reinforce existing socioeconomic, spatial, and digital inequalities. Despite growing research on digital governance and digital inclusion, limited attention has been paid to how one-stop governance reforms affect marginalized communities and how community conditions shape these outcomes. To address this gap, this paper develops a community-based layered analytical framework for examining the impacts of one-stop governance reforms. The framework links service restructuring, digital inequalities, community conditions, and service engagement outcomes across online and offline modes. The framework is illustrated through the case of Jiangan District, Wuhan. The analysis suggests that the impacts of one-stop governance reforms vary across service modes. Community-level support and local conditions play an important role in shaping how marginalized communities access and experience online and offline governance services. The paper contributes a practical analytical framework for understanding how one-stop governance reforms may generate different forms of inclusion and exclusion in smart cities and offers implications for more inclusive digital governance.