Relocation Intention Research Articles

To live with floods or not: Intersectionality of drivers of urban households' adaptation and relocation intentions

AbstractThe intent of households to relocate amidst floods in Ghana's Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, using combined socio‐demographic and physical factors is analyzed within 1206 households. The National Master Sampling Frame of Ghana's Population and Housing Census is utilized for the sampling. The Probit estimation technique is employed to understand the intersectionality of social, economic, demographic, and physical considerations influencing households' decision‐making regarding relocation amidst flood risks. The findings show households' reluctance to relocate contrary to relocation considered mostly as preferred adaptation. The likelihood of relocating exhibited a non‐linear pattern, decreasing only when a population was younger until age 55 before reversing. Indigenous households preferred not to relocate. In communities where place attachment and revenue sources significantly impacted relocation decisions, households with secondary education, past flood experiences, and non‐indigenous status influenced higher perception of flood risk. Therefore, relocation as an effective global adaptation strategy to floods is not widespread. Thus, empowering households to accept a certain level of flood risk potentially avoids maladaptation and involves a combination of hard infrastructure measures and regulatory approaches in places of residence that do not compromise livelihoods. However, if relocation becomes necessary, a right‐based approach must be favored over an absolute risk‐based approach.

Perception and Relocation Intentions of Japanese Youth towards Rural Areas: A Case Study of Visitors in Hanyu-shi, Saitama Prefecture

As a highly urbanized country, Japan is facing the phenomenon of a continuous migration of young people from rural areas to cities, leading to an aging and decreasing population in rural communities. Influenced by the pandemic, people began to reconsider the issue of population concentration in large cities, causing urban residents to become interested in returning to rural areas. The focus of this study is on the perceptions and relocation intentions of Japanese youth towards rural areas, particularly in Hanyu-shi, Saitama Prefecture. Through semi-structured interviews with 26 urban university students who live in urban areas, this study explores the factors that attract or hinder them from having rural lives. The survey results show that childhood experiences and current lifestyle preferences have influenced their views on rural areas. The main hindering factors include backwards infrastructure, communication difficulties, and limited job prospects. This study reveals a significant cognitive gap in urban youth’s attitudes towards rural life in Japan. The study emphasizes the need to eliminate these hindrances and enhance the attractiveness of rural areas to promote reverse urban migration. This study provides important insights for policymakers and urban planners, highlighting the necessity of formulating development strategies that meet the needs of urban youth residents, which is crucial for the sustainable revitalization of rural Japan.

Too Privileged to Move? Neighbourhood Perception and Relocation Intention in China's Gated Communities

AbstractThe association between neighbourhood characteristics and residential relocation is a classic topic in urban studies. In China, where gated communities (GCs) have become a highly popular residential form, how and to what extent residents’ perceptions of GCs affect their relocation intention has not been quantitatively examined. Drawing on a large‐scale household survey conducted in Shanghai, we use multi‐level logistic regression models to examine the impact of the perceptions of neighbourhood environment, attachment and gatedness on relocation intention. Our findings are threefold: (1) the greater the perceived improvement of the neighbourhood environment, the lower the likelihood of relocation intention; (2) respondents with higher levels of neighbourhood attachment tend to have lower relocation intention and (3) respondents living in neighbourhoods with higher levels of gatedness are less likely to have relocation intention. This research contributes to the literature of neighbourhood studies and GCs by quantifying the ramification of entrenched ‘gated mindset’ in urban China.

Ageing-in-Place at Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs): A Case Study on Bribie Island, Australia

Through a case study on Bribie Island in Queensland, Australia, this study investigates Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs) as a viable alternative for ageing-in-place. Aim: The objectives were to investigate why older adults relocate to Bribie Island, how they perceive their living environment, and their future relocation intentions. Method: The research data were attained through semi-structured interviews with 21 Bribie Island residents, aged 65 and older. These data provided the basis for an in-depth understanding of the residents’ perspectives and experiences, with respect to their community and living conditions. Results: The findings indicate that, overall, the participants expressed a high level of satisfaction with their current living environment; however, they also highlight areas for improvement, particularly the transportation and healthcare facilities. Significantly, most respondents confirmed their desire and intention to continue residing on the island. Conclusion: As exemplified by this Bribie Island case study, this study confirms that NORCs offer desirable settings for ageing-in-place. Recognizing the diversity and range of personal preferences, this study emphasizes the importance of ongoing research to develop responsive, inclusive, and supportive environments, to strategically improve the amenities within future NORCs.

A life-course approach to assessing residential mobility dynamics in selected immigrant communities in Kumasi, Ghana

This paper responds to the emerging concerns of residential dissonance character by examining the position and influence of the “life-course” framework of households on residential mobility decisions and the conjunct attainment of subjective well-being in their current and anticipated residential locations. Using data from a cross-sectional survey design and adopting a multi-stage sampling procedure, a comparative study of 397 households from immigrant communities within the Kumasi metropolis is conceptualized. Results from the study revealed contrasting variabilities in the push and pull factors influencing households' relocation experiences and decisions to move. Also, the likelihood of households relocating over the life course was significantly anchored on the employment stage. Thus, decision-making proxies for households' relocation intentions, preparedness, and realizing actual moves were noticeably rapid decisions during active employment life. The study further found that the associated perception of attaining subjective well-being attached to a household's anticipated residential locations was significantly higher than that of their current residence. On the premise of these empirical contributions, the paper outlines how findings could ultimately inform the development of sustainable urban growth management and shape housing mobility planning policies for rapidly growing regions within the global south.

Should I stay or should I go back? Factors influencing snowbirds' permanent relocation intention

PurposeThe objective of the present study was to investigate the impacts of familiarity with and awareness of Florida as a snowbird destination, and satisfaction with the snowbird experience on Florida's image and on snowbirds' permanent relocation intention to Florida. Additionally, the influence of Florida's image on snowbirds' behavioral intention to move to Florida permanently was investigated.Design/methodology/approachData gathered from 304 snowbirds were utilized in employing structural equation modeling to assess the research model.FindingsThe study results showed that awareness of and familiarity with Florida as a snowbird destination, and satisfaction with the snowbird experience significantly influenced participants' image perceptions of Florida. In addition, awareness of and familiarity with Florida as a snowbird destination, and participants' image of Florida had a significant influence on snowbirds' intentions to move to Florida permanently.Practical implicationsThe findings of the study provide significant insights for destination marketing and management organizations and local policymakers in formulating and enacting policies in snowbird destinations to efficiently address migration trends.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first papers to empirically investigate and successfully construct a comprehensive model that explicate the determinants of snowbird tourists' permanent relocation intention.

Contesting “growth” and “sustainability” in Indonesia’s capital city relocation: a corpus ecolinguistic study

The global environmental crisis has triggered academic discussions on how infrastructure discourse often eliminates the environment as a part of the ecosystem. One noticeable contested issue is Indonesia’s capital city relocation from Jakarta to Penajam Paser Utara, Borneo Island. Considering the island’s biodiversity hotspot, the capital city relocation has invited debates about environmental impacts. Despite the criticism and scepticism of the government’s ambitious project, the Indonesian House of Representatives passed the relocation law, followed by the president’s capital city development regulations. Some research has discussed the new capital city (NCC) discourse, but the analysis from a corpus ecolinguistic perspective is absent. It is hypothesised that the lexemes “growth” and “sustainability” in the NCC legal documents represent the government’s intention to communicate the relocation intention and legitimise the plan. Therefore, this paper investigates the employment of lexemes “growth” and “sustainability” in the NCC legal documents using Sketch Engine, an online corpus tool developed by Adam Kilgarriff. Additionally, we also observed the nominalisation and transitivity of the concordances where the lexemes were used in the documents. The analysis revealed that “growth” and “sustainability” are inextricably linked to project NCC as a tool to accelerate and catalyse regional and national economic growth. Ecologically, the NCC documents promote an eco-ambivalent discourse since the sustainability objective excludes the environment. Instead, industrial sustainability is the primary goal in the capital city relocation. The country’s welfare measured by its economic success is salient in the discourse, whereas humans’ responsibility towards the deforestation impacts of relocation is lacking. This research was funded by the Final Project Recognition Grant Universitas Gadjah Mada, Number 5075/UN1.P.II/Dit-Lit/PT.01.01/2023. We are also indebted to the editors of Research Result. Theoretical and Applied Linguistics Journal and the anonymous reviewers for providing this paper valuable feedback.

Adapting to Changing Climate: Understanding Coastal Rural Residents’ Relocation Intention in Response to Sea Level Rise

Ex situ adaptation in the form of relocation has become inevitable in some low-lying coastal zones where other adaptation strategies become impractical or uneconomical. Although relocation of coastal low-lying communities is anticipated globally, little is still known about the factors that influence household-level adoption. This study draws on an extended version of Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) to assess the factors influencing the relocation intention of three highly vulnerable coastal rural communities in Ghana. A total of 359 household heads were randomly selected for a questionnaire survey. The study employed binary logistic regression to identify key factors that influence residents’ readiness to relocate. The results indicated that cognitive and compositional factors were more important than contextual factors in explaining the intention to relocate among coastal rural communities in Ghana. However, contextual factors mediated or attenuated the influence of cognitive and compositional factors on relocation intention. Based on the findings, this study advocates for intensive education on the effects of future sea-level rise impacts on communities as well as structural and non-structural measures to improve the socio-economic capacity of rural communities.

Effects of residential push–pull factors on tenants' intentions to relocate from megacities: Evidence from a Beijing, China survey

In China, tenants' residential relocations always present diverse spatial-temporal tendencies and are highly influenced by disadvantages of origin (push) and attractiveness of destination (pull). This paper aims to construct a relocation intention (RI) model and estimate the effects of residential push–pull factors on tenants' RIs, such as the household registration system (hukou), homeownership status, and residential dissatisfaction. The empirical research relies on a questionnaire-based survey of 2187 tenants conducted in 2019 in Beijing, China. Our findings confirm that non-local hukou status significantly pushes female and unmarried tenants to relocate, and non-local homeownership noticeably pulls male and married tenants' relocation. These two factors also significantly influence the RIs of tenants without higher education. For tenants younger than 35, non-local hukou status shows a strong pushing force, but non-local homeownership does not present notable differences by age. Additionally, residential dissatisfaction significantly pushes tenants' RIs and has a moderating effect on non-local homeownership. Moreover, for tenants who have explicit relocation intentions, non-local hukou status plays a vital role in shortening their intended stay before their actual relocation.

Do they do as they say?

Abstract This paper responds to Bathelt and Li’s (2020) call for selecting more appropriate methods and improving their rigour by evaluating the feasibility of using factorial surveys to anticipate future relocation behaviour. By utilising a case study approach, focussing on Brexit and the UK FinTech industry, the paper examines to what extent business managers’ relocation intentions are driven by factors similar to those known to drive actual relocation behaviour and compares business managers’ relocation intentions with their companies’ actual relocation outcomes. We use a factorial survey conducted in 2018, which allows us to quantitatively analyse the impact of different Brexit scenarios and selected company characteristics on business managers’ likelihood to intend to relocate their UK business unit (or some functions thereof) to the EU and/or the US. Additionally, we collected qualitative secondary data on the actual relocation outcomes of the surveyed companies in February 2022 by investigating online platforms, such as LinkedIn, Companies House, and Crunchbase, as well as company webpages. The results of this mixed-methods approach highlight a significant variation in business managers’ intentions, and the importance of geographical and institutional proximity for relocation intentions and outcomes. We show that business managers’ relocation intentions are driven by factors similar to those known to drive actual relocation behaviour, such as their perception of the economic consequences of different Brexit scenarios, their territorial embeddedness, as well as their nationality. Most importantly, our findings indicate that, although factorial surveys are only moderately accurate when predicting the exact extent and destination of actual relocation, they are highly accurate when predicting whether a company relocates or not.

How political identity and attitudinal spillover matter for consumption of place: Evidence from winter migrants in the United States

AbstractUnderstanding winter migration is relevant for marketing managers and consumer researchers, yet research on this important phenomenon remains scarce. Extending literatures on attitude formation and attitudinal spillover, political identity, and consumption of place, the current research shows that more conservative winter migrants from the United States score higher on consumer animosity and lower on consumer affinity toward Mexico. Affinity toward Mexico, but not animosity, is associated with sense of place and psychological ownership toward a popular winter migration destination, the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) in the United States, through attitudinal spillover. Furthermore, psychological ownership toward the RGV is associated with managerially relevant outcome variables, including revisit intention, word‐of‐mouth, and relocation intention. Tests for alternative explanations (ethnocentrism and xenocentrism) and unobserved heterogeneity are conducted, and the results are discussed in light of the extant literature.

Stay in Risk Area: Place Attachment, Efficacy Beliefs and Risk Coping.

For residents living in earthquake-threatened areas, choosing suitable risk coping behaviors can effectively reduce the loss of family life and property. However, some residents still choose to continue to live within areas at risk of earthquake disaster. Place attachment may play an important role. Based on place attachment theory and the Protective Action Decision Model (PADM), this study explores the possible relationships among place attachment, efficacy beliefs, and evacuation/relocation intention. Furthermore, it examines the mediating role of efficacy beliefs. The study also used the partial least squares method (PLS-SEM) to test samples of 327 rural households in Wenchuan and Lushan earthquake-hit areas. The results show that: (1) Place attachment has a significant effect on response efficacy (RE), but not on self-efficacy (SE); (2) Place dependence (PD) has a negative and significant effect on relocation intention (RI) but has no significant effect on evacuation intention (EI). However, place identity (PI) can indirectly affect EI by influencing RE; (3) Efficacy beliefs have a significant positive effect on EI and RI. These results help us understand the complex relationships among place attachment, efficacy beliefs, and residents’ risk coping behavior, thus providing decision-making references for the formulation and improvement of regional disaster risk management policies.

How Does the Rohingya Influx Influence the Residential Satisfaction and Mobility Intentions of the Host Communities in Bangladesh?

This study investigates the residential satisfaction and future relocation intention of the host communities neighbouring Rohingya migrants in Bangladesh. An empirical study of 151 households was conducted in Ukhiya and Ramu Upazila of Cox’s Bazar district in late 2019. The residential satisfaction component includes the social environment (SE), neighbourhood environment (NE), and public services and facilities (PS&F). It shows that, due to the Rohingya influx, the residential satisfaction level of the Ukhiya host communities declined by 30.17%. Besides, to determine factors that impact on the intention to migrate, the ordinal logistic regression model has been run. A larger distance between the household and the Rohingya camps, longer duration of residence in the community, and a higher number of children in the family negatively influence the mobility intention of the host communities. Furthermore, the Hindu residents in the host communities have higher propensity to relocate. These findings demand that policies and programmes should be planned in a way that enables the host communities to stay in place despite the Rohingya influx.

Factors affecting seniors’ decision to relocate to senior living communities

Abstract This study aimed to investigate the influence of push and pull factors and perceived barriers on seniors’ intention to relocate to senior living communities (SLC). The mediating role of perceived barriers on the proposed relationships were also examined. The data was collected from 363 seniors. Structural equation modeling analysis was conducted to test the study hypotheses. The results indicated that health-related, social and family/friend related, housing and property related push factors, and facility related pull factor positively; and family related, economic, socio-psychological, and knowledge and information barriers negatively influenced seniors’ relocation intention. The study results further indicated that the relationship between health-related push factors and intention to relocate was mediated by family related and socio-psychological barriers, and the relationship between facility related pull factors and intention to relocate was mediated by socio-psychological and economic barriers. The findings provide valuable implications for academicians, SLC operators, health care facilitators and government agencies.

The role of social networks in relocation induced by climate-related hazards: an empirical investigation in China

ABSTRACT Relocation is an adaptive strategy applied to prevent the threats of climate-related hazards. Thus, understanding the determinants of rural households’ adaptation decisions is crucial when informing policy interventions. This study explores the role of social networks (or peer groups) in geohazard-induced relocation using survey data (N = 516) from Chongqing, China. This study applies an instrument variable (IV) method and a series of robustness checks to confirm the findings. The results indicate that (1) social networks’ willingness to relocate (WTR) increases one’s relocation intention; and (2) people imitate their peers’ mobility choices by consciously observing and learning when facing uncertain climate-related hazard risks. Our findings contribute to comprehending whether and why social networks prompt population relocation decisions and help policymakers exploit the role of peer groups when implementing relocation-related policies in geohazard-prone regions.

Exploratory Analysis of the Relationship Between Livelihood Disruptions and Displacement Intentions Following a Volcanic Eruption: A Case from the 2014 Mt. Kelud Eruption

The current study explores the possible relationship between livelihood disruptions and displacement intentions in the short and long term, following a volcanic eruption. Previous studies in a similar context suggest that livestock breeding and farming remain important to the affected population in terms of livelihood maintenance, even when eruptions severely interrupt these activities. Other research findings suggest people consider eruptions opportunities to improve income through increased crop cultivations. Previous studies have concluded that people prefer to return to agricultural and farming activities, even if eruptions significantly disturb them. Little research, however, quantitatively addresses the impact of eruptions on income or explores the relationship between livelihood disruption and relocation intention. To understand this relationship, we conducted a questionnaire survey of villagers in the Kediri and Blitar districts of Indonesia who received an evacuation order during the 2014 Mt. Kelud eruption. We collected and analyzed the data from 440 valid responses. One of our major findings supports earlier research findings vis-à-vis the association between agricultural losses and villagers’ decisions to relocate in the long term. Our data suggest that villagers with no relocation intention had experienced larger agricultural losses, thus suggesting that agricultural losses do not constitute a large factor affecting relocation intention. Likewise, we found there to be no statistically significant relationship between livestock damages/losses and displacement intentions. These findings suggest the importance of further research into causal relationships among economic loss, farming damages and losses, and displacement intentions.

Unravelling residential satisfaction and relocation intention in three urban neighborhood types in Guangzhou, China

With the deepening of housing reform, housing mobility and residential differentiation in urban China are on the rise. Extant studies on residential satisfaction and relocation intention tend to focus on rural to urban relocation, while little is known about their interactions in the context of urban China. This study attempts to fill this void by offering an updated and detailed account of intra-urban relocation, and by unravelling the complex mechanism and interactions between residential satisfaction and relocation against a general background of residential differentiation. Based on a questionnaire survey in three types of neighborhoods representative of the dominant residential patterns in contemporary Chinese cities, namely traditional inner city neighborhoods, urban villages and commodity housing estates, this paper examines determinants of residential satisfaction and relocation intention in each residential segment. The results from linear regression and multivariate logistic regression models show that residential satisfaction is influenced by different factors in the three types of residential neighborhoods, but is generally shaped by community attachment and the housing facilities. Relocation intention is generated by a combination of various factors that differ from neighborhood to neighborhood. In traditional inner city neighborhoods, residents are less likely to develop relocation intentions, and satisfaction levels tend to go down with the age of the housing estates. The situation is slightly different in urban villages, where residents with a weak sense of community prefer to relocate. The diversified determinants of relocation intention in the three types of neighborhoods are by no means incidental, being closely related, in fact, to the demographic composition, built environment and development history of the neighborhood. This study offers a multilayer explanation of intra-urban relocation and its interactions with residential satisfaction in post-reform urban China.

The investigation about relocation intention of elderly people in rural areas of local city suburbs

The investigation about relocation intention of elderly people in rural areas of local city suburbs

The Effects of Inter-Partner Trust on Third-Country Relocation of International Joint Ventures in China

This study explores how inter-partner trust in international joint ventures (IJV) affects third country relocation decisions as foreign partners face an uncertain business environment in China due to wage increases and competition from local companies intensifies. As the concept of third-country relocation is relatively new compared to other international business concepts, it is crucial to find a solid framework that can explain this phenomenon. A study of 232 Korean IJVs operating in China was used to assess the relationship between inter-partner trust and third-country relocation intention. Also, we measured moderating variables that strengthen (plant performance, asset specificity, coercive pressure) and weaken (mimetic pressure and normative pressure) the negative relationship between trust and third-country relocation intention. The main effect and interaction effects were significant in showing that inter-partner trust hinders decisions on IJV’s third-country relocation. In addition, the results show that trust and third-country relocation relationship interact with other moderating variables. In conclusion, our study suggests that foreign IJVs should explore various aspects such as inter-partner relationships and internal and institutional factors before making decisions on IJV relocation.

Should We Leave? Attitudes towards Relocation in Response to Sea Level Rise

The participation of individuals contributes significantly to the success of sea level rise adaptation. This study therefore addresses what influences people’s likelihood of relocating away from low-lying areas in response to rising sea levels. The analysis was based on a survey conducted in the City of Panama Beach in Florida (USA). Survey items relate to people’s risk perception, hazard experience, threat appraisal, and coping appraisal, whose theoretical background is Protection Motivation Theory. Descriptive and correlation analysis was first performed to highlight critical factors which were then examined by a multinomial Logit model. Results show that sea level rise awareness is the major explanatory variable. Coping appraisal is qualitatively viewed as a strong predictor for action, while threat appraisal is statistically significant in driving relocation intention. These factors should be integrated in current risk communication regarding sea level rise.