Transnational migrants in Shanghai: residential spatial patterns and the underlying driving forces

Abstract

AbstractWith a remarkably increasing number of transnational migrants settling down in China, their residential spatial distributions in Chinese cities have drawn significant academic attention. This paper investigates recent residential spatial patterns of transnational migrants in Shanghai and the underlying driving forces behind such choices. Based on China's sixth population census and our 30 focus group interviews in 30 neighbourhood committees, this paper finds that comparing with it in the semi‐colonial period, Mao's era and the early stages of China's economic reform, transnational migrants' residential spatial patterns in recent times in Shanghai are dispersed in every corner rather than concentrated in specific areas such as the old settlement sites and foreign expert buildings. The paper explains that such residential spatial fragmentation is largely driven by the combined forces of a neoliberal approach in the unique urban political economy in China, globalisation development, individual socioeconomic and demographic concerns and cultural factors.