Displaced villagers’ adaptation in concentrated resettlement community: A case study of Nanjing, China

Abstract

This research examines the socioeconomic transformation and adaptation to urban life among resettled villagers who live in government-designated concentrated resettlement communities, by articulating the interrelated roles played by individual households, resettlement communities, the local state and the market. Principal component analysis and descriptive comparison were conducted to assess resettled villagers’ opinions on their economic, social, and environmental adaptations, based on 300 structured survey samples collected from two concentrated resettlement communities in Nanjing. The study argues that legacy from the past rural collective institution, rural land property rights ambiguity, and complicated interests in land conversion all contextualize villager resettlement and adaptation. Post-resettlement adaptation depends on specific geographical, environmental, and economic conditions. An approach open to resettled villagers’ opinions and concerns would help to achieve an equitable and sustainable realization of resettled villagers’ transformation and adaptation. The research urges that resettlement policy environment now faces two paradigm changes.