Urban village demolition, migrant workers' rental costs and housing choices: Evidence from Hangzhou, China

Abstract

Many cities in China are undergoing large-scale demolition of urban villages. The difficulty of finding suitable housing for migrant workers has caused widespread concern because the lack of proper housing may lead to the outflow of migrant workers that would affect the normal operation of the city. Based on data collected by questionnaire survey in Hangzhou and a multivariate logistic model, this study analyzed the influence of housing demolition on the housing choices of migrant workers. We found that nearly a third (29.2%) of migrant workers spend >30% of their income on rent, and 14.1% of migrant workers plan to return to rural areas. This means that migrant workers face significant housing pressure and some migrant worker outflow from the city exists. Further empirical analysis corroborates that nine variables—including gender, age, education, marriage, occupation, RIR, RRS, HCW, and CMW—have a significant impact on migrant worker housing choices. Based on the results of multivariate logistic regression analysis, we recommend that the government expand the coverage of public rental housing, build temporary low-rent housing, stimulate businesses to provide housing subsidies to their workers, improve the educational conditions for migrant children, and intensively develop long-term, low-income rental apartments.