‘Anyway, you are an outsider’: Temporary migrants in urban China

Abstract

In this paper, we extend recent discussions on the relationship with the host place of ‘temporary’ or non- hukou migrants in major Chinese cities through the lens of three psychological processes: familiarity, attachment and identity. The empirical analysis is based on fieldwork conducted in selected villages-in-the-city in Guangzhou. A mixed methods approach is employed. The findings highlight the emotional distance between temporary migrants and their urban milieu: while some become familiar with the city through their prolonged stay, very few establish attachment and identity. The analysis shows that the dominance of indigenous villagers is a major obstacle for migrants to develop attachment to the given village-in-the-city; moreover, perceived institutional discriminations negatively affect migrants’ attachment to the city. The findings also corroborate a social constructionist perception of place identity: when place identity is legitimated and reproduced by the hukou system, it is difficult for migrants to challenge the hegemonic constructions of place and identity and to create their own narratives of identities.

The contribution of intergroup neighbouring to community participation: Evidence from Shanghai

“…In urban China, community participation has declined significantly since the collapse of the work-unit system and more voluntary help is expected from residents (Heberer, 2009;Wu, 2018;Xu et al, 2010). However, research indicates that community participation is harder to facilitate in an increasingly more diverse urban context where many native residents perceive their locality to be overrun by migrants who they consider as outsiders (Wu, 2012;Du et al, 2018). Active exclusion of rural migrants by local residents and migrants' fear of exclusion have therefore reduced the level of community participation and prevented collaboration between migrant and local residents.…”

“…In fact, neighbouring within the group of established residents achieved the opposite and assisted in excluding perceived outsiders. This process of establishing the 'other' can also be observed in urban China where rural migrants are the main subject of stigmatisation by native residents (Chen et al, 2011;Du et al, 2018;Wang et al, 2010). Rural migrants are often unwilling to participate in community activities due to fears of being discriminated against (Wu 2012).…”

Split household and smoking behavior of rural migrants in China

“…Without local urban Hukou, rural migrants can move to a new place but are not easy to share the same public services and welfare as local urban citizens [14,18]. Thus, the rural-urban migration is not a one way street, and most of rural migrants are temporary or circular [16][17].Most of them have to split their households between their rural origins and urban work locations, as some of the family members live in rural areas, whereas others have moved to cities looking for a job [19][20][21][22]. The household split including sole migration and couple migration has become an important social issue in China's urbanization process [29].…”

Does Residential Segregation Affect Access to Public Health Education Among Rural Migrants in China?

“…However, with the constraint of hukou, rural migrants have less access to settle permanently when they remain regarded as outsiders in destination cities [17][18] and undertake demeaning jobs but with low pay [19][20]. Without local hukou, they are not eligible for public housing welfare and are excluded from affordable housing [21].…”