Outsiders to urban-centric growth: the dual social exclusion of migrant tenant farmers in China

Abstract

Urban-centric growth resulting from urban expansion and land redevelopment may result in rural–urban conflicts. Over time, in China, the affected social groups, such as urban residents in the poorer neighbourhoods, peri-urban farmers and urban population living in the peri-urban areas have found their voices in the academic literature, and some have even developed ways to negotiate compensation for the lost properties and livelihoods. This paper analyses the impact of urban-centric growth on the livelihoods of a much less studied group: tenant farmers. Using the cases of Beishan and Nanshan Villages of Guangzhou, with first-hand data collected in 2008, 2009 and 2017, this research found that tenant farmers had to face ‘dual social exclusion’. They were excluded by the urban authorities and the urban society, and by the rural authorities and rural communities. The dual social exclusion was imposed on tenant farmers through cultural and institutional settings that were systematically against ‘outsiders’. Incentivised by the institutional settings, local farmers were not just victims of predatory urbanisation; they could also be oppressors of tenant farmers. However, as important food suppliers to cities, the tenant farmers exercised agency to overcome the difficulties, which sowed the seeds of urban food insecurity.