Redai dili (Mar 2024)
Housing Class of the Chinese Floating Population: From the Perspective of Urbanization
Abstract
The floating population is at the bottom of the urban housing classes. In recent years, housing class of floating population has become differentiated, affecting new-type urbanization and affordable housing development. This study discusses the characteristics of the floating population's housing class and the influencing factors and mechanisms of its formation. It uses the Latent Class Analysis model to classify housing classes and obtains five classes: multiple houses in inflow and hukou (household registration) areas, one house in the inflow area, one or multiple houses in hukou areas, village houses in hukou areas, and the houseless class. Further analysis shows that: (1) The housing purchase behavior of the floating population in cities is aligned with the urbanization process; most of the floating population with non-agricultural hukou is in the middle and upper housing classes, whereas most of the floating population with agricultural hukou is in the middle and lower classes. (2) The spatial differentiation of the housing class of the floating population follows a north-south pattern. The multiple houses in inflow and hukou areas and one-house in the inflow area classes are mostly distributed in the northern, central, and western parts of China, and are in small- and medium-sized cities. Most one or multiple houses in hukou areas and houseless classes are concentrated in large cities in southeastern and southern China. (3) In addition to socioeconomic, institutional, migration, and regional factors significantly impact housing classes. Compared with the floating population with non-agricultural hukou, the floating population with agricultural hukou is constrained by the market and hukou system, and is easily excluded from the housing market and the affordable housing system. Members in state-owned enterprises and the members of the Communist Party of China still have an advantage in housing stratification, while non-SOEs migrants' disadvantages are worsened. In addition, geographical factors maintain the characteristics of migrants' housing class in inflow areas. (4) Power persistence, market transformation, and housing filtration are mechanisms that form housing classes and spatial patterns. The urban housing welfare policy has made it difficult for the floating population to benefit from housing reform, which has reinforced the differentiation of the housing class. Meanwhile, market transformation differentiates income and education levels of the floating population, affecting their housing class. The differences in urban housing policies and markets in different regions affect migrants' housing choices, resulting in housing filtering in geographical regions, and finally forming the north-south pattern of migrants' housing class. China should expedite reforming the hukou system, implement differentiated affordable housing development based on regions, and allocate more affordable housing to basic public service providers in cities. This study reveals the situation and mechanism of housing differentiation among the floating population, provides empirical support for affordable housing policies, promotes citizenship of the floating population, and facilitates new-type urbanization.
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