Sociospatial differentiation in urban China : a case study of Shanghai (1990-2000)
Sociospatial differentiation in urban China : a case study of Shanghai (1990-2000)
This study upholds a theoretical perspective that the restructuring of sociospatial structure is not only based on the new socioeconomic transition, but also on the old socioeconomic system, political ideology and history. It is argued that sociospatial differentiation in post-reform urban China includes five casual factors, i.e. the revealing of historical legacies of inequality, fragmentation of the housing system, marketisation of urban development, globalisation and economic restructuring, and rural-urban migration. Specifically, for the first time in studying Chinese cities, the finest resolution data, i.e. data on the level of the residential committee, are used. Mainly under the impact of the state, the socioeconomic transformation of Shanghai has brought about rising disparities, but the result is far from social polarisation. After studying the factorial ecology of Shanghai three points are highlighted. First, the socioeconomic status has become prominent, but the institutional forces such as the work unit and the hukou system are still important in shaping the sociospatial structure. Second, the complexity of sociospatial structure is increasing, as migrants and professionals now compose clustered areas in both suburbs and the inner areas. Third, the importance of the historical legacy is also highlighted. However, no indices suggest that there is an extremely high extent of segregation of specific residential groups. Nevertheless, when segregation between pairs of social groups is considered, it is found that there is a high extent of segregation between residents with high and low socioeconomic status. In contrast, a high extent of housing segregation is identified. Further fieldwork and case study on three typical neighbourhoods (juzhuxiaoqu), gives out direct evidence of rising disparities in local areas. Therefore, sociospatial differentiation in Shanghai is characterised by a combination of marked segregation of housing and relative dispersal of various social groups. It is unable to conclude that there is really a new sociospatial structure. Nevertheless, on the fine spatial level, the process of making a new sociospatial structure is ongoing.
University of Southampton
Li, Zhigang
096004a8-6630-4fdb-8d0f-c51239ebc80a
2005
Li, Zhigang
096004a8-6630-4fdb-8d0f-c51239ebc80a
Li, Zhigang
(2005)
Sociospatial differentiation in urban China : a case study of Shanghai (1990-2000).
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
This study upholds a theoretical perspective that the restructuring of sociospatial structure is not only based on the new socioeconomic transition, but also on the old socioeconomic system, political ideology and history. It is argued that sociospatial differentiation in post-reform urban China includes five casual factors, i.e. the revealing of historical legacies of inequality, fragmentation of the housing system, marketisation of urban development, globalisation and economic restructuring, and rural-urban migration. Specifically, for the first time in studying Chinese cities, the finest resolution data, i.e. data on the level of the residential committee, are used. Mainly under the impact of the state, the socioeconomic transformation of Shanghai has brought about rising disparities, but the result is far from social polarisation. After studying the factorial ecology of Shanghai three points are highlighted. First, the socioeconomic status has become prominent, but the institutional forces such as the work unit and the hukou system are still important in shaping the sociospatial structure. Second, the complexity of sociospatial structure is increasing, as migrants and professionals now compose clustered areas in both suburbs and the inner areas. Third, the importance of the historical legacy is also highlighted. However, no indices suggest that there is an extremely high extent of segregation of specific residential groups. Nevertheless, when segregation between pairs of social groups is considered, it is found that there is a high extent of segregation between residents with high and low socioeconomic status. In contrast, a high extent of housing segregation is identified. Further fieldwork and case study on three typical neighbourhoods (juzhuxiaoqu), gives out direct evidence of rising disparities in local areas. Therefore, sociospatial differentiation in Shanghai is characterised by a combination of marked segregation of housing and relative dispersal of various social groups. It is unable to conclude that there is really a new sociospatial structure. Nevertheless, on the fine spatial level, the process of making a new sociospatial structure is ongoing.
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Published date: 2005
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Local EPrints ID: 465750
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/465750
PURE UUID: 8f36f5a6-9583-4ab9-a0c8-66c0ae68ff05
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Date deposited: 05 Jul 2022 02:52
Last modified: 23 Jul 2022 02:16
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Author:
Zhigang Li
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