Unlocking the power of leisure: Associations between leisure activity and social integration of family and individual migrants

Abstract

As living standards improve, leisure activities are increasingly important as they create windows of opportunity for migrants to use urban space and mingle with local residents. However, few migrant studies have examined the associations between leisure activity and social integration. Based on survey data in China, this study explores such associations with a comparative perspective (family migration vs. individual migration). Generally, leisure spaces within and outside the community are linked to social integration with a positive relationship between leisure consumption and social integration. We further compare these two migration types and find that family migrants have higher social integration than individual migrants. Individual migrants are more integrated into the city through consumption, while family migrants’ integration depends on space and consumption. This study contributes to the current literature on social integration and reveals migrants’ daily life from a leisure perspective.