Dual-track urbanization and co-location travel behavior of migrant workers in new towns in Guangzhou, China

Guangzhou has experienced a pattern of dual-track urbanization since economic reforms began in the 1980s. Industrialization and an increasing population have caused the city to relocate jobs and housing to the suburbs. Simultaneously, town governments have developed township and village enterprises (TVEs) and built affordable housing in villages. TVEs have become major industrial processing centers, and the towns that house them have seen the emergence of co-location effects whereby migrant workers become concentrated in urban villages and live near TVEs to optimize their commuting time. It is argued that these co-location adjustments are heavily influenced by institutional policies. This paper reports the results of two surveys, the first a questionnaire survey administered in ShijingTown and the second comprising a series of in-depth interviews carried out in two of Shijing’s urban villages. The results show that a high proportion of the respondents worked and lived in ShijingTown or one of the research villages. Most respondents spent a short time commuting to work. The results also suggest that the pattern of co-location among migrant workers and TVEs observed here reflects the desire to optimize commuting time. Some respondents noted that they had relocated to the research villages because they were ineligible to apply for public housing due to the hukou system.

► Guangzhou has experienced dual-track urbanization.
► This suburbanization pattern produces co-location effects.
► The co-location effects are influenced by dualistic urban–rural system.
► Two surveys were conducted and the results confirmed the co-location hypothesis.