Cities
Volume 60, 2017, Pages 333-342

The subjective wellbeing of migrants in Guangzhou, China: The impacts of the social and physical environment (Article) (Open Access)

Liu Y. , Zhang F. , Wu F. , Li Z.*
  • a Bartlett School of Planning, University College London, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London, WC1H 0NN, United Kingdom; Department of Urban and Regional Planning, School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China, Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, 518057, China
  • b Bartlett School of Planning, University College London, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London, WC1H 0NN, United Kingdom
  • c Bartlett School of Planning, University College London, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London, WC1H 0NN, United Kingdom
  • d School of Urban Design, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China

Abstract

China has witnessed a surge of rural-urban migrants over the past three decades. Although a plethora of literature has shed light on the low quality of migrants' lives, little research has been done to understand how migrants evaluate their own lives in host cities, and no study has been undertaken to link migrants' subjective wellbeing with their residential environments. Using the data collected from a questionnaire survey in Guangzhou and multilevel linear models, this paper examines the determinants of migrants' subjective wellbeing in host cities. It particularly focuses on the extent to which and the ways in which migrants' social ties and residential environment influence their subjective wellbeing. The results indicate that, in general, migrants have a lower level of subjective wellbeing than local residents, and the cognitive and emotional components of migrants' subjective wellbeing are influenced by different factors. The sense of relative deprivation, social support, and neighbourhood social environment matter in determining the cognitive component of migrants' wellbeing (life satisfaction) but have no impact on the emotional component of their wellbeing (positive and negative affect). No evidence shows that neighbourhood cleanliness and neighbourhood amenities influence the level of migrants' subjective wellbeing. © 2016 The Authors

Author Keywords

China Social support Migrants Subjective wellbeing Neighbourhood social environment Neighbourhood amenities

Index Keywords

social impact China amenity migrants experience Guangdong neighborhood Guangzhou rural-urban migration social behavior psychology residential location
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84993982009&doi=10.1016%2fj.cities.2016.10.008&partnerID=40&md5=925a917eff1a62d8e50e4f6c01604321
DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2016.10.008
ISSN: 02642751
Cited by: 42
Original Language: English