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Changing Residential and Employment Distributions in Guangzhou. An Analysis of Commuting Flows. Tremendous transformation of China cities. Gradual weakening of the work-unit system Dismantling of work-unit compounds for real estate development
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Changing Residential and Employment Distributions in Guangzhou An Analysis of Commuting Flows
Tremendous transformation of China cities • Gradual weakening of the work-unit system • Dismantling of work-unit compounds for real estate development • Working and living within a work-unit compound increasingly less common
Land re-commodification and the (re)emergence of the urban rent gradient • Re-emergence of the CBD • Spatial differentiation of land use in response to differential rent • Local government as an active agent in urban restructuring • Development zones and industrial suburbanization • Central city redevelopment and showcase projects by municipal governments
Phenomenal growth in the real estate industry • Massive real estate developments, especially on the urban fringe (in the form of xiaoqu or largely gated residential estates) • Equally massive investments in transport infrastructures: urban motorways, metro systems
Significantly affects where people live and where they work • Hence the pattern of commuting • Time and distance (and hence cost) of commute • Pattern of the commuting flows over the city, and implications for traffic congestions • Means of commuting
Data and Methodology • Two household surveys in Guangzhou 2001: 1500 households 2005: 1203 households • Multi-level probability proportionate to size sampling • To ensure spatial distribution of the sample approximates the spatial distribution of the population • Level 1: Urban Districts (qu) • Level 2: Streets or Sub-districts (jiedao)
Residence/workplace recorded at street (街道办)/postal zone levels • Both retrospective residential and job histories dated back to 1980 available • Commute distance calculated using Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Guangzhou • Inner Core:Yuexiu, Liwan and Dongshan and the northern strip of Haizhu • Inner Suburbs:The rest of Haizhu, Tianhe, Fancun, southern Baiyun and part of Huangpu • Outer Suburbs:Panyu and the rest of Baiyun and Huangpu
Results: • Mean commute distance increased from 4.6km in 2001 to 5.7 km in 2005 • Mean commute time from 26 min to 28 min • => mean commute speed from 10.4km/h to 12.2 km/h • Probably a result of the commencement of the Metro System in 1999 and subsequent extensions in recent years
Commuting Pattern • Despite the longer average commute distance, long distance suburb-central city commute actually declined: • % people lived in inner suburb and commute to central city: from 46.3% to 26.6% • % people lived in outer suburb and commute to central city: 47.8% to 18.2%
Factors affecting commute distance: Equations without Location Dummies
Gender • 2001 eqtn: gender takes on the “wrong” sign but highly significant • Lingering influence of work units in assignment of housing • Gender inequality in housing assignment within a work unit • Inclusion of the residential location dummies renders it insignificant. • 2005 eqtn: “correct” sign, although insignificant; increasing resemblance of western norm
Income • Positive and Significant in both 2001 & 2005 eqtns. • Income elasticity increased over time • Increasing validity of the Alonso-Muth model (greater tendency for high income households to move to the suburbs) ? • Inclusion of the residential location dummies significantly reduces the income effect in 2005 • Increasingly, income has an effect on commute distance via its effect on residential location.
Occupational status • Relation between occupational status and commute distance weak in 2001 • A clear association is discerned in 2005 • Association strengthened significantly with inclusion of residential location dummies • High-status workers more likely to occupy inner locations, after controlling for income
Industry and enterprise type • Workers in gov’t and Party organizations had shorter commutes than those in other work units, but the difference was smaller in 2005, compared with 2001 • Gov’t and Party organizations only began to earnestly implement housing reforms after 2000 • Workers in manufacturing had shorter commutes in 2005 • Out-migration of manufacturing jobs have not brought about increase in commuting distance
Conclusions • Rapid suburbanization of both residence and jobs in Guangzhou • Intra-zone traffic today dominates the commuting scene in both central city and suburbs • Gender and income effects increasingly resemble those found in the West • But lingering influence of the work unit system is still apparent.