Socio-spatial segregation in China and migrants’ everyday life experiences: the case of Wenzhou

ABSTRACT

Although internal migration is one of the most frequently discussed aspects of China’s twenty-first century urbanization, much of the research in this area emphasizes megacities. This paper, however, focuses on Wenzhou, a Chinese city that served as a national model for the introduction of small-scale private enterprise in the 1990s. Through a survey of migrants living in the subdistrict of Shuangyu, a settlement dominated by manufacturing workers, this article argues that socio-spatial segregation research should pay more holistic attention to migrants’ use of urban space, beyond simply place of residence. Focusing on how migrants use space in several aspects of their everyday lives, this article contends that Shuangyu is socially and spatially segregated from other parts of the city. Rather than neatly incorporated into the rest of the city, migrant settlement in Wenzhou is both marginalized and independent. We thus theorize Shuangyu’s place in Wenzhou’s new socio-spatial structure as a “city within the city.”

KEYWORDS:

• Migrants
• everyday life
• socio-spatial segregation
• Wenzhou
• China

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Wenzhou, along with Sunan and Pearl River Delta, was used as an economic development model at the beginning of China’s reform era. The Sunan model used local state-directed townships and village enterprises (TVEs) to spur economic development in Sunan (Southern Jiangsu). The Pearl River Delta model refers to foreign direct investment (FDI)-led development, based on close proximity to Hong Kong and Macau.

2. However, social mix in the work unit did not mean that housing and income were distributed equally between cadres and workers, or between higher status professionals and low-skilled technicians.

3. Economic and comfortable housing (jingji shiyong fang): is a type of affordable housing for low-or middle-income local urban residents to purchase, which is built by for-profit real estate developers while subsidized by government to maintain the relative low price. It is important to point out that all affordable units are developed for sale, not for rent, and are only accessible to eligible urban residents.

4. Hukou is the Chinese state’s household registration system.

5. Common worker (Pugong): unskilled worker who do simple jobs, such as wipe the sole of the shoe or take off the wax paper in the shoemaking assembly. They are usually paid by a basic monthly salary in Wenzhou.

6. Skilled worker (Jigong): workers with a special skill, knowledge, or (usually acquired) ability in their work. They are usually paid by piece wage. Depending on their skills and working hours, they could make close to the basic salary of the area or up to 9,000 Yuan.