Navigating the multifunctional transition of peri-urban agriculture: The role of adaptive governance in Guangzhou, China

Abstract

Peri-urban agricultural systems (PUAS) face competing demands for production, ecological conservation, and urban-oriented services, yet the interactions shaping their multifunctional transition remain insufficiently understood. Integrating a social–ecological systems perspective, the coupled infrastructure systems framework, and adaptive governance theory, this study examines how external disturbances, element interactions, and functional outputs shape system evolution. A longitudinal case study of Yue Village, Guangzhou, draws on interviews, field observations, and document analysis. The findings trace a transition from traditional through intensive to multifunctional agriculture. Adaptive governance operated through change perception and system diagnosis, social learning and actor-network optimization, and practice adjustment and institutional adaptation. These processes helped local actors translate policy support, public investment, and market opportunities into coordinated action. Multifunctional outputs emerged through complementary configurations of natural, built, institutional, human, and social infrastructure, while uneven participation and dependence on external support remained concerns. The case illustrates state-enabled adaptive governance, in which a prominent state role interacts with local coordination and learning. The findings provide a process-based account of peri-urban transition and suggest that governance interventions should align infrastructure investment with local organizational capacity and institutional conditions.