Impact of Urban Village Redevelopment on the Migration Patterns of Rural Workers in China: A Policy Study

Abstract

In China, to improve the quality of urbanization development, the government has carried out a series of urban village renovation programs, to achieve sustainable urban development. However, the renovation of urban villages has also caused new social problems, one of them is that many rural migrant workers may choose to return to their hometowns due to the displacement or unaffordable housing and living costs in urban areas. Considering the factors affecting the stay and departure of rural migrant workers, this study will focus on urban housing security policies. By analyzing the different urban village renovation policies and residential housing security policies in Beijing, Shenzhen and Hangzhou, it can be concluded that the policy reasons leading to the loss of rural migrant workers as mainly as follows: inadequate housing security policies with low coverage, policies not reflecting migrant workers' needs, and insufficient government-subsidized housing supply, making affordable urban housing scarce for these workers. Therefore, completing the housing security policy for rural migrant workers and providing them with suitable housing is the key to preventing a larger scale of rural migrant workers leaving urban areas.