From fragmentation to integration: Experiences from China multi-Plan integration program

Spatial planning is conducive to balancing social, economic, cultural, and environmental dimensions through the use of territorial and spatial strategies and technologies. However, different land uses are usually managed by different actors. Each actor pursues its own policies, interests, and values. This leads to fragmentation. Enhanced integration among those actors may counter fragmentation, as such promoting an improved and more balanced use of resources, in turn promoting sustainable development. Nonetheless, integration remains an intricate and arduous undertaking within the sphere of spatial planning. This study seeks to answer the question, under what conditions integration can be achieved more successfully. To address this question, a theoretical framework is developed, and a mixed-method design is applied, incorporating desk research, Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), and comparative studies, with China Multi-Plan Integration Projects (MPI) serving as cases. It tracks the various stages of MPI Reform evolution, explores the combined effects of conditions on integration, investigates the facilitators and inhibitors of integration, and mitigates the bias of MPI. The main finding of this thesis is that it identifies the combination of institutional and instrumental strategies that lead to integration, thereby expanding on research traditionally focused on the impact of individual factors within the spatial planning and public administration field.