Living condition among China’s rural–urban migrants: recent dynamics and the inland–coastal differential

Using data from the Rural–Urban Migration in China (RUMiC) survey, this paper evaluates the very recent dynamics of living condition among China’s rural–urban migrants during 2008–2014, scrutinizing in particular the differential between the inland region and the coastal region. Along with their improved economic conditions, housing conditions of migrants have in general improved, although compared to urban locals their disadvantages persist over time. The improvement is especially fast among those migrants residing in the inland region. Multivariate regression results indicate that education, income, place of origin and family composition are important determinants of migrants’ housing conditions. Finally, decomposition analysis suggests that even after controlling for those observable factors, there is still a large inland–coastal differential. Over time, China’s rural–urban migrants are becoming more stable and settled in host cities. The temporary nature of China’s migrants, claimed in many previous studies, might be changing. Updated and regional-specific migrant policies are needed.     

Social Groups and Housing Differentiation in China's Urban Villages: An Institutional Interpretation

Possessing different land rights and distinct landscapes, and separated from the rest of the city by invisible institutional boundaries, China's urban villages are unusual enclaves for landless farmers, rural migrants and other urban hukou (citizenship rights) holders in a period of rapid urbanization. Although urban villages are well known for their disorder and unruliness, they provide temporary livelihood for indigenous villagers and inexpensive shelter for migrants and other urban residents. Urban villages are typically perceived as homogeneous low-income neighbourhoods characterized by low quality and high density housing. In fact, housing differentiation has emerged in urban villages among residents who possess different quantities and types of capital, rights/entitlements, skills and other assets. This paper aims to understand the social groups and the housing differentiation among them in the Chinese urban villages from an institutional perspective. It is based on a large-scale household survey in 11 urban villages in six Chinese cities. Empirical data show evidence of significant housing differentiation within these enclaves: indigenous villagers have become a petty rentier class; rural migrants pay the highest rents while enduring the lowest housing conditions; and housing conditions for urban hukou holders lie between those of the other two groups. Regression analysis suggests that urban villages share similar dynamics of housing differentiation as wider urban spaces, i.e. the combination of strong institutional constraints and emerging market influences leads to housing differentiation and inequality. Residents in urban villages are also highly mobile. The inflows and outflows of population form an important part of the urban socio-spatial restructuring process.     

我国流动人口住房租购选择及其影响因素——基于 2017 年 CMDS 的实证分析

基于 2017 年中国流动人口动态监测数据,从就业因素、流动因素、个人因素和城市经济因素四方面构建全国和不同层级城市的流动人口租购选择影响因素评价模型,并运用 Logit 回归法进行分析。结果表明:流动人口住房选择以租房为主,不同层级城市流动人口租购选择比例有差异。其中一线城市流动人口的购房比例最小,租房比例最大;四线城市购房比例最大,租房比例最小。上述四方面因素对流动人口的租购选择有显著影响。不同因素对不同层级城市流动人口的租购选择影响存在差异,尤其城市经济因素中房价要素差异显著。一二三线城市房价与租购选择呈现正“U”型关系,四五线城市呈现倒“U”型关系。     

Rural Migrants’ Residential Mobility: Housing and Locational Outcomes of Forced Moves in China

This paper analyses the residential mobility of China’s rural–urban migrants in light of evidence from Yangzhou, a medium-sized city in Jiangsu province. To evaluate the effects of forced moves induced by demolition-led redevelopment, these outcomes are compared to those of voluntary moves. The evaluation is specifically concerned with dwelling attributes and location characteristics. Dwelling attributes consist of tenure and housing facilities, while commuting distance, distance to the city centre and the length of a child’s trip to school comprise the location characteristics. Logistic regression of data from a 2012–2013 survey shows that a voluntary relocation and the intention to move prior to notification of intended demolition are likely to result in positive outcomes. The migrants’ relocation strategy involves making a trade-off between better dwelling attributes and a better location. When housing improvement is their major concern, they tend to move to peripheral areas. However, it seems that children’s educational opportunities are being factored into the trade-off. In that case, migrants purchase an apartment in a specific school district or at least move closer to it. For the sake of their children, they relegate other motives to second place.     

Housing Migrant Workers in Rapidly Urbanizing Regions: A Study of the Chinese Model in Shenzhen

China has experienced a huge wave of rural to urban migration over the last 25 years; however, Chinese cities do not have the large-scale slum settlements found in other developing countries. Has China found a new way to solve the housing problems of migrants and the urban poor? This paper addresses this question and reports the findings of a recent research project carried out in Shenzhen City. In general, Chinese migrants are poor in comparison with official urban residents. The majority of them live in shared rooms or small apartments in the so-called urban villages. Housing poverty, especially overcrowding, is a serious problem. This paper also highlights the positive contributions made by urban villages and private landlords in housing the large number of migrants in cities.     

Quality matters: housing and the mental health of rural migrants in urban China

Abstract

This study goes beyond housing ownership and investigates how housing size, quality, and location affect the mental health of rural migrants in urban China. By using the RUMiC data, the results show that in addition to housing ownership, living space and housing quality are also significantly associated with the mental health of rural migrants. Moreover, with an increase in living space, the mental health of rural migrants who live in private rental housing tends to improve significantly slower than rural migrants who live in dormitories. Furthermore, housing quality and housing location do not moderate the effect of housing ownership on the mental health of rural migrants. This study highlights that it is important to go beyond homeownership and pay more attention to other attributes of housing when studying the mental health of rural migrants. Particularly, this study underscores that improving housing quality is an effective way to improve the mental health of rural migrants in urban China.     

Rural migrants' homeownership in Chinese urban destinations: Do institutional arrangements still matter after Hukou reform?

In China, the hukou system has long been cited as the underlying cause of the disadvantages in housing access that rural migrants encounter in urban destinations. However, following the latest round of hukou reform, does the hukou system still have a significant impact on rural migrants' housing outcomes? This paper addresses the question by examining hukou-related arrangements faced by rural migrants, in both their urban destination and their rural town of origin. Based on data from a nationwide survey conducted in 2011, we find that city entry criteria together with insecure and inalienable land rights negatively predict rural migrants' homeownership attainment. Moreover, the impact differs across urban locations. Consequently, although hukou reform has eased discrimination against rural individuals, disparities persist between urban natives and rural migrants. This paper demonstrates that these disparities result from unequal access to social welfare and housing.     

中国大城市农村移民居住问题的国际研究进展

农村移民在中国大城市的居住问题,作为反映其在城市生存状态的一个重要方面,成为国外学者研究的主要领域之一。应该注意到,迄今为止政府对农村移民的住房问题关注很少,投入的精力十分有限。同时,中国大城市也并没有出现许多其他发展中国家城市因大量移民而发生的大规模贫民窟现象。国外学者有关中国大城市农村移民居住问题的研究主要涉及以下几个方面：农村移民的住房状况,农村移民的住房选择和约束,农村移民的居住空间分布,农村移民聚居区等。本文将从这几个方面对相关研究进行概述和总结,并在结束部分给出简短的总结和讨论。     

Do internal migrants suffer from housing extreme overcrowding in urban China?

Housing deprivation is central to economic deprivation. Identifying disadvantaged group(s) suffering from housing deprivation is a necessary step before the government can design effective housing assistance programmes. Using a nationwide micro-level data-set from the Chinese Family Panel Studies, we evidence the disadvantage that internal migrants face related to extreme overcrowding. We find that renters, whether natives or internal migrants, are more likely to suffer extreme overcrowding than homeowners, nationally and in most Chinese regions. However, both rural and urban migrants are less likely to be owner-occupiers than native residents. By comparing homeowners vs. renters, we further discover that migrant homeowners are less likely to suffer extreme overcrowding than the native residents of China’s cities. Conversely internal migrant renters face the highest odds to live in extremely overcrowded dwellings. Overall, findings suggest that the Chinese government needs pay special attention to improve internal migrant tenants’ living condition, particularly so for those renting.     

城乡二元住房制度:透视中国城镇化健康发展的困局

二元性的制度体系是制约中国城镇化持续、健康发展的根本原因,尤其是当前的住房制度更是成为制约农民身份转变、定居城市、同等享受城市公共服务的关键障碍。住房市场化改革以后,城市福利住房体制解体、基本住房保障体系严重缺失,城乡住房的合法流通、交易渠道更是被完全阻断,由此极大地提高了农民进入和定居城市的经济、社会成本。二元的住房制度体系是继劳动品、劳动力之后又一次对资本与空间的剥夺,其本质上压缩了城镇化的经济成本,但也造成了社会成本的逐渐积累、不断加重——基于住房为扭结点的制度约束越来越突出,阻碍了中国城镇化的顺畅进行。基于此,通过对当前国内一些地方实践的反思与剖析,提出有关城乡一体住房制度设计的相关设想。     

The rhetoric and reality of housing choice: The role of urban consolidation

In Australia, growth at the fringe has been seen as an inevitable response to a lack of affordable housing in the inner and middle zones of the major metropolitan cities. Urban consolidation was seen as one way of improving housing affordability and increasing housing choices and, at the same time, constraining outward growth. It will do so only if households forego past preferences for ownership of a detached house. This paper examines the contribution urban consolidation has made to meeting affordability and choice objectives by providing some insights into whether households are trading off tenure choices for lifestyle choices based on location and dwelling type. It also provides information on the extent of spatial polarisation of income that has contributed to the observed outcomes.     

Residential mobility in China: home ownership among rural–urban migrants after reform of the hukou registration system

This paper analyzes the housing tenure of China’s rural–urban migrants in eight destination municipalities in Jiangsu province after the reform of the urban registration system (called hukou in Chinese). The objective is to distill links between home ownership and formal residency status. Using binary logistic models, the paper explores the effects of demographics and institutional factors on home ownership. The analysis is based on the data from a survey conducted in 2009 in eight municipalities, representing the responses to the institutional reforms carried out from the 2000s on. The prevalence of home ownership proves to be affected by age, gender, educational level, household size, personal income, participation in an urban insurance scheme, and a Jiangsu hukou status. However, an inter-municipality comparison reveals divergent effects of a Jiangsu hukou. Registration plays a significant role in relatively more-developed municipalities, where the entitlements are higher but so is the threshold to obtain them. In contrast, its role is not significant in less-developed municipalities, where access to civil amenities is more readily granted.     

The rhetoric and reality of housing choice: The role of urban consolidation

Abstract

In Australia, growth at the fringe has been seen as an inevitable response to a lack of affordable housing in the inner and middle zones of the major metropolitan cities. Urban consolidation was seen as one way of improving housing affordability and increasing housing choices and, at the same time, constraining outward growth. It will do so only if households forego past preferences for ownership of a detached house. This paper examines the contribution urban consolidation has made to meeting affordability and choice objectives by providing some insights into whether households are trading off tenure choices for lifestyle choices based on location and dwelling type. It also provides information on the extent of spatial polarisation of income that has contributed to the observed outcomes.     

Legal title,tenure security,and investment—An empirical study in Beijing

Small property rights (SPR) housing is an informal way to provide housing for residents in Chinese cities. In this paper, we examine the institutional framework and development of SPR properties in China. Using survey data collected in Beijing, we investigate perceived tenure security and the relationship between legal title and investment in home improvements. We consider both the importance and the limitations of the legal dimension, as well as de facto situations of urban land uses, in order to gain a better understanding of property rights and urban development issues. Our results reveal that the characteristics of buildings and residents in SPR communities are not much different from those of commercial housing properties. The residents have a fairly high degree of tenure security even when their properties are not formally recognized by the state. Nevertheless, our results indicate that the absence of a legal title is effective to discourage the owners of SPR housing properties to invest in their properties.     

京沪穗城镇家庭住房状况变迁——基于“五普”与“六普”数据的比较

住房以家庭为单位进行消费,确定住房市场发展方向需要进一步了解当前城镇家庭居住水平与住房现状。本文利用第五次人口普查和第六次人口普查长表数据,对京沪穗城镇家庭住房状况进行比较分析,指出一线城市经济发展背景下人口快速增长导致城市住房需求旺盛,这是造成城市住房价格不断上涨的重要原因。2000~2010年间,伴随房地产市场化进程,城镇家庭居住水平不断提高,京沪穗三地中广州市城镇家庭居住水平改善程度最高。当前一线城市家庭住房现状和消费偏好决定了住房需求还有进一步提升空间,住房市场调控要结合需求变动趋势来进行。未来随着一线城市住房租赁市场和存量住房交易市场规模日益扩大,住房市场结构亟待进一步规范。     

Social discourse,housing search and residential segregation: the social determinants of recent economic migrants’ residential mobility in Seville

Abstract

Immigrants’ neighbourhood choices are key to understanding today’s dominant socio-territorial dynamics, especially in urban areas. We analysed the factors involved in the housing search at the early stages of the economic migrant influx in Seville, Spain (Andalusia region, Europe’s southern border) and their impact on the development of residential segregation in this city. Using a qualitative methodology approach based on focus groups, unstructured interviews and discourse analysis, the implicit and explicit social determinants that influence economic migrants’ residential behaviours were examined. In line with previous studies, the results highlight the importance of socio-economic determinants and a trend towards self-segregation. Social discourse analysis reveals how the host society’s ethnoracial preferences and prejudices – from the outset of the economic migrant influx – translate into barriers to accessing the housing market, which plays a crucial role in understanding economic migrant residential mobility and its impact on and consequences for the residential segregation process.     

The effects of social ties on rural-urban migrants' intention to settle in cities in China

The rapid increase of temporary migrants in large Chinese cities has led to the need for a nuanced and comprehensive understanding of the factors contributing to the influx. However, previous investigation into this subject has been undermined by an oversimplification of the concepts and measurements related to settlement intentions and migrants' social network. This study uses a combination of data from a 2013 nationwide survey and multilevel logit regressions to investigate the settlement intentions of 12,807 rural-urban migrants across eight cities in China. It especially focuses on the ways in which social ties between migrants and people in their destination cities shaped their intention to settle there. This study makes an innovative contribution to the literature in three ways. First, it distinguishes between migrants' ties to non-residents (other migrants from the same place of origin), kin residents (local residents who are kin), and non-kin residents (local residents who are not kin). Second, it distinguishes between interactive social ties and supportive social ties. Third, it uses multiple indicators to measure the intention of migrants who decide to permanently settle, as well as hukou transfer and housing ownership. Findings from our analysis indicate that the newly formed intergroup ties of migrants and their existing intragroup ties exert different impacts on their intention to settle. Specifically, migrants' newly formed ties with non-kin residents are positively linked to their settlement intention, while their ties to non-residents are negatively associated with their settlement intention. Our findings also indicate that the social ties of migrants have different effects on the different dimensions of their settlement intention. The social ties of migrants play an important role in their permanent settlement and housing ownership intentions, but their effect on hukou transfer intentions is relatively weak. Additionally, our research discovered that supportive social ties play a more important role than do interactive social ties in shaping migrants' settlement intention.     

Too complex to be managed? New trends in peri-urbanisation and its planning in Beijing

Taking Beijing as a case study, this paper analyses new trends in peri-urbanisation and the city’s planning responses after 2000 in China. The results of the analysis show that the percentage of temporary migrant residents continues to grow in the peri-urban region and the social inequalities in relation to quality of life between local people and migrants have increased there. In particular, there is a concentration of thousands of young and well-educated migrants in the peri-urban region, resulting in a new kind of urban slum. Sprawling development still dominates Beijing’s fringe. New planning policies related to an urban–rural integration strategy have played a positive role in improving living conditions in rural areas and reducing the social and economic gaps between urban and rural areas in the peri-urban region. However, planning in the peri-urban region is still facing new challenges due to vertically and horizontally fragmented management, growing market forces, and social discrimination caused by the remnants of the hukou mechanism. This suggests that it will not be easy to achieve the planning goal of urban–rural integration and harmony society unless further actions are taken to enhance political capacity of planning system in Beijing. The capacity-building of planning should be facilitated if institutional innovations can be made in arrangements of power, rights, public resources, accountability, and legitimacy in the planning system.     

人口流动特征对流动人口住房选择影响机制分析——以广东省为例

基于2017年广东省流动人口动态监测调查数据,采用无序多分类Logistic模型,分别分析流动时间、流动范围、流入城市类型对流动人口住房选择的影响.研究发现:流动时间、流动范围、流入城市类型均对其住房选择影响显著,流动时间长的省内流动人口更可能拥有自有产权住房,三、四线城市的跨省流动人口更倾向于选择免费住房,而一、二线...     

Re-employment,Housing Tenure and Squatter Settlements in Turkey: An Empirical Analysis

Although the change in the Turkish economy in the last 14 years is historical, the primary question for public and academic circles remains unanswered: why hasn’t the growth translated into more and better jobs? This paper intends to develop a better understanding about the dragging structural unemployment by investigating the contribution of a possible labour immobility to the unemployment in Turkey. This is the first study that examines the unemployment duration and its relation to residential mobility, more specifically housing tenure in Turkey. It uses the first and only longitudinal survey, Survey of Income and Living Conditions, which became publicly available in 2011. Unlike in developed countries, homeowners in Turkey are often migrants from rural to urban areas living in semi-illegal dwellings. We use this “squatter” effect to reduce the endogeneity problem in estimations, which indicate that residential immobility has a serious impact on unemployment durations in Turkey.