This book starts from the assumption that there is no single path of migrant integration or incorporation into the megacity. It then asks what kinds of migrant pathways into the Chinese megacity might be discovered by studying migrants' own agency. Based on over one hundred qualitative interviews conducted in the Pearl River Delta, the micro-studies in this volume show how different high-risk migrant groups (voluntary and involuntary, blue-collar and white-collar, internal and international) connect to the megacity through their everyday routines and practices, constituting and appropriating transient urban spaces. It also examines the responsiveness of the Chinese government's migration policies from the perspective of these different migrant groups. The study brings aspects of migration sociology and risk sociology into dialogue with each other and with urban China studies. Linked to ideas of the global risk society and planetary urbanisation, the study provides an empirical and theoretical building block beyond China's national development. Its findings are expected to contribute to current debates on restricting or promoting migration to (Chinese) megacities.
Contents:
- Producing and Negotiating Transient Mega-Urban Spaces: Migrant Agency and Migration Governance in China's Risk Society
- Spaces of Unprotectedness and Contestation: Injured Migrant Workers in Guangzhou's Manufacturing Industry
- Emerging Spaces of Care and Party-State Securitisation Policies: The Rise and Fall of Migrant-Worker NGOs in the Pearl River Delta
- Entangled in jianghu Spaces: Becoming Urban xiaojie in the City of Shenzhen
- Creating Transnational Urban Spaces and Migration Containment Policies: African Traders in Guangzhou
- Forging Survival and Career Spaces: Rural Graduates in Guangzhou
- Responding to Resettlement Space in Unexpected Ways: A Relocated 'Village' from the Three Gorges Area in Foshan City
- Conclusion: The Enduring Promise of the Megacity
Readership: Academics in the field of China Studies, Migration and Urban Research. Urban planners and policymakers. Advanced research students in China Studies, Migration and Urban Research.