Urban Villages in China: A 2008 Survey of MigrantSettlements in Beijing

摘要

A team of Beijing-based urban planning specialists is joined by a noted Americangeographer to present the results and analyze their 2008 survey of migrant settlements inChina's capital city. The paper examines the living and work conditions as well as housingconsumption behavior of migrants in Chinese cities, focusing on chengzhongcun or urban vil-lages—rural settlements that have been transformed into poor living spaces for migrant work-ers. It finds that although migrant workers are willing to pay the same or higher rent per unitof space, they consume much smaller dwelling spaces than local residents. Estimations of theMincerian wage equation and of a housing demand equation show that migrants' small spaceconsumption is a function not only of low income but also of a reluctance to spend their earn-ings in the city. The findings reinforce the notion that migrant workers consider the city as aplace to work rather than a home in which to live. Journal of EconomicLiterature, Classifica-tion Numbers: J610, 0150, R210, R230. 14 figures, 5 tables, 34 references, 1 appendix.