Public Rental Housing Provision for Migrant Workers in Chongqing, China: A Case Study from an Urban Justice Perspective

© 2020 Ka Ling CheungThis thesis examines the experience of Chongqing’s public rental housing (PRH) provision and the expanding access to public housing by migrant workers from an urban justice perspective. Over the past several decades, China’s urban housing provision has experienced significant changes, transforming from a socialist welfare- to a more market-oriented housing system and more recently, a return to the public housing resurgence. The city of Chongqing, the largest southwestern Chinese city, has launched China’s largest PRH programme which is accessible to migrant workers following the removal of the hukou residence restriction against them. The new model of Chongqing’s PRH provision demonstrates the potential of making transformative urban changes to reduce inequality and improve social welfare of urban disadvantaged groups such as migrant workers. This thesis investigates the seeking of urban justice in China’s transitional context through a large-scale public housing programme in Chongqing. Building upon Fainstein’s (2010) Just City theory, this thesis develops a conceptual framework to evaluate the role of public housing provision using equity, diversity, and democracy as core criteria. To operationalise the evaluation, the proposed conceptual framework brings different analytical approaches at interfaces between Jessop, Brenner and Jones’ (2008) multi-dimensional socio-spatiality and the capabilities approach to explore the impact of state policy on citizens’ well-being. The framework is applied to Chongqing’s case to analyse the multiple forms of socio-spatial intervention into public housing and the capabilities enhancement of migrant workers in Chongqing. The findings show that Chongqing’s large-scale and progressive PRH programme has been implemented within an exceptionally short period of time under a powerful state intervention and control through mobilising different socio-spatial strategies. The provision of PRH has transformed urban living conditions that the migrant workers have experienced substantial capabilities enhancement after moving to PRH. Chongqing’s PRH policy has contributed to greater urban justice through redistributive public endeavours and recognition of migrant workers’ housing right. However, this thesis reveals the lack of democratic norms in urban policy-making that progressive urban change is likely to hang on state initiatives and benevolent leadership in China’s Party-state context. Chongqing’s transforming housing justice is derived from the Chinese contextual specificity. The findings shed lights on the theoretical concern of urban justice in China’s transitional context. This thesis also provides a more nuanced understanding of China’s public housing provision and its influences on welfare distribution and citizens’ well-being at the current stage of the housing reform