Self-employed migrants and their entrepreneurial space in megacities: A Beijing farmers’ market

Abstract

Self-employment is an important path to economic mobility for immigrants and rural–urban migrants in megacities around the world. Their entrepreneurial spaces scatter across urban areas but can be susceptible to removal in the process of urban redevelopment and streetscaping efforts.This study chose the farmers' market, a typical scattered entrepreneurial space, to study the mechanism of self-employed migrants' upward mobility in the context of redevelopment. Drawing evidence from a case study in Beijing—the demolition of Nanhu Farmers' Market—this study provides an in-depth analysis of the trajectories of self-employed migrants at the beginning and expansion phases of their entrepreneurial venture, as well as their reactions to and coping strategies for spatial displacement. We found that while most vendors showed much resilience and chose to be self-employed in another farmers' market after the shock, the demolition had disruptive effects on their life trajectories and potentially the communities they were located in. We argue that the farmers' market is a form of workplace-based entrepreneurial concentration that differs from the residence-based ethnic enclave model. It not only provides migrants with an employment niche but also offers opportunities to build social ties with local residents and foster their social integration into the city. The distinct function of scattered entrepreneurial spaces in facilitating migrants’ upward mobility calls for inclusionary policies to formalize small business spaces in megacities during the urbanization process, in China and possibly in other emerging economies.