Sustainable Community Transformation and Community Integration of Agricultural Transfer Population—A Case Study from China

Abstract

Urban-rural integrated communities (URICs) are transitional areas for agricultural transfer population (ATP) in the process of urbanization in China. In the current urban renewal context, the demolition and renovation of communities often result in ATP living in a precarious situation and being marginalized in the city. Sustainable urban renewal should change this situation, take the transformation of URICs as a breakthrough, and promote the urban integration of the ATP. Based on the survey of the National Health Commission of China in 2017, this paper investigates the effects of community participation and community identity on community integration, using the ordered probit model with data of the ATP living in URICs. The results show that both community identity and community participation positively influence community integration, and there are intergenerational differences. The mediating effect test shows that community identity plays a mediating role in the process of community participation, influencing community integration. The findings of the study provide possible ideas for the practical promotion of community integration and urban integration of the ATP, facilitate the implementation of sustainable urban regeneration to reduce the costs of citizenship, and maximize the benefits of the cumulative effects of urbanization for all segments of the population.