Intra-urban migration and perceptions of neighborhood cohesion in urban China: The case of Guangzhou

Abstract

Although the consequences of intra-urban migration have received wide attention, few studies have elucidated whether and how processes of intra-urban migration are associated with perceptions of neighborhood cohesion. This paper tries to extend the literature on neighborhood cohesion by explicitly incorporating the experience of past intra-urban residential moves into multilevel analysis based on a large-scale survey undertaken in Guangzhou. The results reveal that features of intra-urban migration (e.g., tenure shift, change in housing type and frequencies of intra-urban residential movement) have discernible effects on four different dimensions of neighborhood cohesion: Social solidarity, neighborly acquaintance, social trust and informal social control. The findings not only contribute to a more refined understanding of intra-urban migration influences, but also suggest considering a more exhaustive measure of residential history in future explanations of neighborhood cohesion.