A STUDY ON THE PATTERNS OF MIGRATION IN CHINESE LARGE AND MEDIUM CITIES

Expand
  • 1. Department of Urban and Resource Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093;
    2. Institute of Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101;
    3. Centre of Urban Planning&Environmental Management the University of Hong Kong,Hong Kong;
    4. Department of Regional and Urban Science,Hangzhou University,Hangzhou 310028;
    5. Nanjing Institute of Geography,Chinese Academy of sciences,Nanjing 210008

Received date: 1997-11-20

  Revised date: 1998-07-18

  Online published: 1999-05-15

Supported by

Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China No.49331010

Abstract

This paper reveals the mechanism of population migration along the coastal urban regions in China. This is the first large scale survey on floating population ever conducted in large and medium cities including Beijing, Tianjin, Tangshan, Langfang, Nanjing and Kunshan. The paper first reviews the intellectual foundation of demographic studies on migration. With the survey data and further analysis, it examines the characteristics of population migration in Chinese cities. China is now undergoing a large scale of rural migration into the urban domain with mechanistic increases in the number of floating population. The motive for migration is predominately economic. Family type migration is getting more popular than individual migration. From an economic perspective, low value added, semi skilled jobs are taken up by the first time migrants, and there is also the corresponding shift to service and managerial type of work for the local residents. Chain type migration with upward movement on the job ladder is observed for the second time migrants. From a social viewpoint, jobs for migrants are mostly untenured and without welfare provision as compared with those available for the urban dwellers. Migrations in cities coalesced together to form cliques and syndicates. This has resulted in a more segregated urban morphology.

Cite this article

Gu Chaolin, Cai Jianming, Zhang Wei, Ma Qingyu, Roger CK CHAN, Li Wangming, Shen Daoqi . A STUDY ON THE PATTERNS OF MIGRATION IN CHINESE LARGE AND MEDIUM CITIES[J]. Acta Geographica Sinica, 1999 , 54(3) : 204 -212 . DOI: 10.11821/xb199903002

Outlines

/