Spatial Variation Relationship between Floating Population and Residential Burglary: A Case Study from ZG, China

Jianguo Chen,Chao Jiang,Suhong Zhou,Luzi Xiao,Lin Liu

doi:10.3390/ijgi6080246

Abstract

With the rapid development of China’s economy, the demand for labor in the coastal cities continues to grow. Due to restrictions imposed by China’s household registration system, a large number of floating populations have subsequently appeared. The relationship between floating populations and crime, however, is not well understood. This paper investigates the impact of a floating population on residential burglary on a fine spatial scale. The floating population was divided into the floating population from other provinces (FPFOP) and the floating population from the same province as ZG city (FPFSP), because of the high heterogeneity. Univariate spatial patterns in residential burglary and the floating population in ZG were explored using Moran’s I and LISA (local indicators of spatial association) models. Furthermore, a geographically weighted Poisson regression model, which addressed the spatial effects in the data, was employed to explore the relationship between the floating population and residential burglary. The results revealed that the impact of the floating population on residential burglary is complex. The floating population from the same province did not have a significant impact on residential burglary in most parts of the city, while the floating population from other provinces had a significantly positive impact on residential burglary in most of the study areas and the magnitude of this impact varied across the study area.

Highlights

The household registration system was established in China in the 1950s to facilitate population management
The floating population was classified into two categories: Floating population from other provinces (FPFOP) and floating population from the same province as the study area (FPFSP)
Both the FPFSP and the floating population from other provinces (FPFOP) have a significant impact on residential burglary numbers, but there are differences in these effects

Summary

Introduction

The household registration system was established in China in the 1950s to facilitate population management. Each person is registered at their birthplace and the individual’s household registration status is defined in terms of residence place. People can only live and work in the place where their household was registered before 1980. In order to find better jobs and earn higher incomes, a large number of people have been pouring into the coastal cities from inland areas. The change of household registration from one place to another remains officially difficult. Many people who work and live in a city do not have local household registration there; these people are said to comprise the floating population [1,2]. By 2015, official statistics reported that the floating population had grown to about 247 million, accounting for around 18 percent of the total Chinese population [3]

Objectives

Results

Discussion

Conclusion