Internal and international migrant communities in the Pearl River Delta/ China – linking informal migration dynamics, global change and urban health

Summary

During the first two year-phase (2007/2008) with the focus on “Informal migrant communities and health strategies in urban villages of Pearl River Delta/China” the project achieved a deepened understanding of the complex and interdependent processes of massive megaurbanization and tremendous (partly informal) rural-urban migration into the PRD, the consequential emergence of migrant settlements – the urban villages – and the collapsed-health-care system against the background of China’s social and economic transition and global change. In the current phase (2009/2010) the focus on the topic of migration and megaurban health is sustained, but extended in four respects:

besides urban villages a broader variety of internal migrant communities will be included, with a focus on such groups that are highly at risk in terms of health (such as migrants working with electronic waste);
the analysis of informal dimensions of migrant’s access to health care will be extended to other spheres of urban social services and infrastructure to better understand the mechanisms of informal dynamics within and beyond migrant communities;
international migrants in China from developing and transitional countries will be integrated, as many parallels were found concerning their legal status and consequential access to assets;
increasing attention will be paid to the role of local and international NGO’s and emerging new forms of governance related to migration and health in the Pearl River Delta.

Overall aim is the development of a theoretical and comparative framework on the interlinkages of global change, national transition, migration, the changing urban social sphere and the emergence of informal structures. Extended to our broader frame, we keep up our initial research questions:

How are different groups of migrants affected by the devastated social service system and infrastructure;
how do different stakeholders react;
how are different levels of administration reacting to this complex interplay of local, national and supranational agents;
how does this condition China’s social, economical and political stability?

Institutional affiliation and contact

The project is located at the Institute of East Asian Studies of the Free University of Berlin and the Department of Geography of the University of Cologne. Research is conducted in close collaboration with geographers and anthropologists of the Sun Yat-sen University of Guangzhou. Intensive cooperation and scientific exchange within the Priority Program has especially been established with the "Climate Health" project (PRD 4) and "Dhaka-INNOVATE" project (Dhaka 3).

Department of Geography

University of Cologne
Albertus-Magnus-Platz
50923 Cologne
Germany

Institute of East Asian Studies
Free University of Berlin
Ehrenbergstr. 26/28
14195 Berlin
Germany

Project Coordinators

Prof. Dr. Frauke Kraas                       Prof. Dr. Bettina Gransow
Tel.: +49-221-470-7050                      Tel.:+49-30-8385-6902/-3598
f.kraas[at]uni-koeln.de                      bgransow[at]zedat.fu-berlin.de

Contact:
Dipl.-Geogr. Tabea Bork
Tel.: +49-221-470-6191
t.bork[at]uni-koeln.de

Research Associates

Dipl.-Geogr. Tabea Bork                     Dipl.-Polit. Yuan Yuan
Tel.: +49-221-470-6191                       Tel.: +49-30-8385-6902
t.bork[at]uni-koeln.de                    Yuan_Yuan[at]web.de

Research Partners in China:

Prof. Dr. Xue Desheng                    Prof. Dr. Zhou Daming
Geography & Planning School              Dept. of Anthropology
Sun Yat-sen University                     Sun Yat-sen University
135 Xinggang West Road                      135 Xinggang West Road
510275 P.R. China                               510275 P. R. China
Tel: +86-20-8411-1949/2332            Tel.: +86-20-8411-4286
eesxds[at]mail.sysu.edu.cn                   hsszdam[at]mail.sysu.edu.cn

Publications

Baur, M., Gransow, B., Jin, Y. (2007): Labour Mobility in Urban China: An Integrated Labour Market in the Making?. In: Labour Mobility in Urban China: An Integrated Labour Market in the Making?

Beisswenger, S., Bork, T. (2008): Jahrestagung der Geographischen Gesellschaft Chinas in Nanjing [Conference report on the Annual Meeting of the Chinese Geographical Society in Nanjing], 02.-04. November 2007. In: Asien 108

Beisswenger, S. (2008): Bekanntheitsgrad und Umsetzung des neuen chinesischen Arbeitsvertragsgesetzes. In: China informationen des Asienhauses (2008)

Beisswenger, S., Bork, T., Kilian, P. (2008): Perlflussdelta: Vom Dreistromland zur megaurbanen Region. Wanderungsbewegungen und Stadtentwicklungen im Süden Chinas. In: Scinexx of February 29th

Beisswenger, S., Bork, T., Kilian, P. (2008): Perlflussdelta: Vom Dreistromland zur megaurbanen Region. Wanderungsbewegungen und Stadtentwicklungen im Süden Chinas [Migration and Urban Development in the Pearl River Delta, China].,

Bork, T., Kraas, F., Yuan, Y. (2010): Migrant's Health, Health Facilities and Services in Villages-in-the-city in Guangzhou, China. In: Gransow, Z.(Eds.): Berliner Chinahefte 38, pp. 72-93

Bork, T., Butsch, C., Kraas, F., Kroll, M. (2009): Megastädte: Neue Risiken für die Gesundheit. In: Deutsches Ärzteblatt, 106 (39), pp. 1877-1881

Bork, T., Kraas, F., Yuan, Y. (2011): Governance challenges in China's urban health care system - The role of stakeholders.. In: Erdkunde, 65 (2), pp. 121-135

Bork, T., Kraas, F., Xue, D., Li, Z. (2011): Urban Environmental Health challenges in China’s Villages-in-the-city. In: Geographische Zeitschrift , 99 (1), pp. 16-35

Bork, T., Gransow, B., Kraas, F., Yuan, Y. (2011): Marketization and Informalization of Health Care Services in Mega-urban China. In: Krämer, K., Kraas, .(Eds.): Health in Megacities and Urban Areas, pp. 173-188

Bork, T., Kilian, P., Sterly, H. (2009): Informalität in Megastädten. Das Beispiel der megaurbanen Region Perflussdelta, China. In: Praxis Geographie, 39 (7-8), pp. 28-32

Bork, T., Rafflenbeul, B., Kraas, F., Li, Z. (2012): Chinas Migrations- und Stadtpolitik: Auswirkungen für afrikanische Migranten in Guangzhou und Foshan. In: Kraas, F., Bork, T.(Eds.): Urbanisierung und internationale Migration. Migrantenökonomien und Migrationspolitik in Städten. Eine Welt 25, pp. 149-165

Bork, T., Kraas, F. (2012): Einleitung [Introduction]. In: Kraas, B.(Eds.): Urbanisierung und internationale Migration [Urbanization and International Migration]. Eine Welt 25

Bork-Hüffer, T., Rafflenbeul, B., Kraas, F., Li, Z. (2014): Global Change, National Development Goals, Urbanization and International Migration in China. The Example of African Migrants in Guangzhou and Foshan. In: Kraas, A., Coy, M.(Eds.): Megacities – Our Global Urban Future

Bork-Hüffer, T., Yuan-Ihle, Y. (2014): The management of foreigners in China: Changes to the migration law and regulations during the late era Hu/Wen and early Era Xi/Li and their potential effects. In: International Journal of China Studies , 5 (3), pp. 571-597

Bork-Hüffer, T. (accepted for publication): Transformation und Stadtentwicklung in China: alte und neue Risiken für die Gesundheit [Transition and Urbanization in China: Old and New Health Risks]. In: Passauer Kontaktstudium Geographie 2012

Bork-Hüffer, T. (2012): Migrants’ Health Seeking Actions in Guangzhou, China. Individual Action, Structure and Agency: Linkages and Change,

Bork-Hüffer, T., Kraas, F. (2015): Health Care Disparities in Megaurban China: The Ambivalent Role of Unregistered Practitioners. In: Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie, 106 (3), pp. 339-352

Bork-Hüffer, T., Etzold, B., Gransow, B., Tomba, L., Sterly, H., Suda, K., Kraas, F., Flock, R. (2016): Agency and the Making of Transient Urban Spaces: Examples of Migrants in the City in the Pearl River Delta, China, and Dhaka, Bangladesh. In: Population, Space and Place 22, pp. 128-145

Bork-Hüffer, T., Rafflenbeul, B., Zhigang, L., Kraas, F., Yue, D. (2016): Mobility and the Transiency of Social Spaces: African Merchant Entrepreneurs in China. In: Population, Space and Place 22, pp. 199-211

Butsch, C., Kroll, M., Bork, T. (2010): The Megaurban Health Challenge – Examples from India and China. In: Geographische Rundschau International , 6 (2), pp. 20-25

Butsch, C., Kroll, M., Bork, T. (2010): The Megaurban Health Challenge ? Examples from India and China.. In: Geographische Rundschau International Edition, 6 (2/2010), pp. 20-25

Gransow, B. (2007): „Dörfer in Städten“ – Typen chinesischer Marginalsiedlungen am Beispiel Beijing und Guangzhou. In: Bronger, D.(Eds.): Marginalsiedlungen in Megastädten Asiens, pp. 343-377, Münster, Lit Verlag

Gransow, B., Damm, J. (2007): Zwischen Kuli-Export und Business-Netzwerken. Muster interner, inter- und transnationaler chinesischer Migration seit dem 19. Jahrhundert. In: Kraler, A., Husa, K., Bilger, V., Stacher, I.(Eds.): Migrationen. Globale Entwicklungen seit 1850, pp. 222-244, Wien, Mandelbaum Verlag

Gransow, B. (2008): Zwischen Informalisierung und Formalisierung. Migration, Stadtentwicklung und Transformation im Perlflussdelta. In: China aktuell, 37 (1), pp. 67-99

Gransow, B. (2009): Institutional change in China's anti-poverty policy. In: Heberer , T., Schubert, G.(Eds.): Regime Legitimacy in Contemporary China, , Routledge

Gransow, B., Zhou, D. (2010): Migrants and Health in China. In: Gransow, B., Zhou, D.(Eds.): , 38, Münster, Lit Verlag

Gransow, B., Zhou, D. (2010): Introduction . In: Gransow, B., Zhou, D.(Eds.): Migrants and Health in China, 38(3-8), Münster, Lit Verlag

Gransow, B. (2010): Body as Armor. Health Risks and Health Consciousness among Rural Migrants in Urban China. In: Migrants and Health in China. . In: Gransow, B., Zhou, D.(Eds.): Migrants and Health in China, 38(9-27), Münster, Lit Verlag

Gransow, B. (2011): “Migrant Communities and Social Change in Chinese Megacities: Slum Formation or Urban Innovation?”. In: Bade, K., Lorentz, B., Pries, L.(Eds.): Migration and Integration. Reflections on Our Common Future, pp. 65-97, Leipzig, Europäische Verlagsanstalt

Gransow, B. (2012): Contested Urbanization in China: Exploring Informal Spaces of Migrants-in-the-City. In: Harvard Asia Quarterly, XIV, pp. 12-24

Gransow, B. (2013): Migrant Communities,Informality and the Challenge of Urban Redevelopment.. In: Catak, N., Duyan, E., Secer, S.(Eds.): Chinese Megacities, Rethinking the Urban, pp. 247-258, Istanbul, Dakam Publishing

Gransow, B. (2014): Urbanisation, Rural-to-Urban Migrants and Housing in China. In: Kerry, B.(Eds.): The EU-China Relationship: European Perspectives. A Manual for Policy Makers, pp. 65-97, London, Imperial College Press

Gransow, B., Zheng, G., Leong, A., Li, L. (2014): Chinese Migrant Workers and Occupational Injuries. A Case Study of the Manufacturing Industry in the Pearl River Delta. In: Working Paper 2014-1, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) , 22 (2)

Gransow, B. (2015): Sustaining Livelihoods in Urban Villages: Health Risks and Health Strategies Among Rural-to-Urban Migrants in China – the Case of Guangzhou. In: Rural Livelihoods in China. Political Economy in Transition, pp. 74-92

Gransow, B. (2016): Labour Rights and Beyond—How Migrant Worker NGOs Negotiate Urban Spaces in the Pearl River Delta. In: Population, Space and Place, pp. 185-198

Gransow, B. (2019): Bewitched by the History behind the Walls” – Robert Park and the Arc of Urban Sociology from Chicago to China. In: Forrest, R., Ren, J., Wissink, B.(Eds.): The City in China: New Perspectives on Contemporary Urbanism

Gransow, B., Hackenbroch, K. (2019): 3.2.3 Urban Restructuring: Forced Inner-City Mobility of Rural Migrants. In: Kraas, F., et al., .(Eds.): Mega Cities. Mega Challenge. Informal Dynamics of Global Change. Insights from Dhaka, Bangladesh and Pearl River Delta, China, pp. 82-85, Stuttgart, Borntraeger Science Publishers

Gransow, B., Kilian, P. (2019): 3.2.5 Migrants as Labor Force: Working Conditions and the Role of Non-Governmental Organisations. In: Kraas, F., et al., .(Eds.): Mega Cities. Mega Challenge. Informal Dynamics of Global Change. Insights from Dhaka, Bangladesh and Pearl River Delta, China, pp. 86-89, Stuttgart, Borntraeger Science Publishers

Kilian, P., Peters, M. (2019): Flexibility and Agility: Modes of Firm Organisation and Upgrading in the Pearl River Delta's Electronics Industry. In: Kraas, F., Hackenbroch, K., Sterly, H., Heintzenberg, J.(Eds.): Megacities - Megachallenge: Informal Dynamics of Global Change, pp. 103-106, Stuttgart, Borntraeger Science Publishers

Kraas, F., Bork-Hüffer, T. (2012): Urbanisierung und internationale Migration: Versuch einer Standortbestimmung [Urbanization and International Migration: An Attempt to Identify of the State-of-the-art]. In: Kraas, F., Bork, T.(Eds.): Urbanisierung und internationale Migration [Urbanization and International Migration]. Eine Welt 25, pp. 13-30

Peters, M., Rafflenbeul, B., Gransow, B. (2019): 3.2.6 Regulating Migration in China’s Megacities: Current Frameworks for Internal and International Migration. In: Kraas, F., et al., .(Eds.): Mega Cities. Mega Challenge. Informal Dynamics of Global Change. Insights from Dhaka, Bangladesh and Pearl River Delta, China, pp. 89-92, Stuttgart, Borntraeger Science Publishers

Rafflenbeul, B., Hartmann, P., Kraas, F. (2014): Deutsche in China und Chinesen in Deutschland: Migrationsprozesse und -politiken im Vergleich. In: Pape, W., Preuschoff, S., Yuging, W., Jin, Z.(Eds.): China und Europa. Sprache und Kultur, Werte und Recht. Chinese-Western Discourse 2, pp. 165-180, Berlin, De Gruyter

Suda, K. (2012): Yizu – „Das Ameisenvolk“. Zur urbanen Informalität und sozialen Mobilität von Hochschulabsolventen in prekären Lebensverhältnissen . In: Adolphi, W.(Eds.): Schönes Neues China, Das Argument, 296, pp. 167-179

Suda, K. (2016): A Room of One’s Own: Highly-educated Migrants’ Strategies for Creating a Home in Guangzhou. In: Population, Space and Place , 22 (2), pp. 146-157

Suda, K. (2017): Urban welfare and social justice: individual perspectives of highly-educated rural-to-urban migrants in the city of Guangzhou. In: Carillo, B., Hood, J., Kadetz, P.(Eds.): Handbook of Welfare in China, pp. 223-251, Cheltenham (UK)/Northampton, MA/USA: Edward Elgar Publishing

Suda, K. (2019): 3.2.4. Up or Stuck on the Social Ladder? Highly Educated Rural-to-Urban Migrants’ Claim to Social Mobility and Urban Space. In: Kraas, F., et al., .(Eds.): Mega Cities. Mega Challenge. Informal Dynamics of Global Change. Insights from Dhaka, Bangladesh and Pearl River Delta, China, pp. 85-86, Stuttgart, Borntraeger Science Publishers

Yuan-Ihle, Y., Schnack, H., Jahn, H. (2009): Mobility and Health - Health Risks and Health Strategies of Rural Migrants in Urban China. In: Conference Sun Yat-sen University (2008)

Yuan-Ihle, Y. (2017): Health-Seeking Behavior of Rural-to-Urban Migrant Women Regarding Sexual Health in Pearl River Delta, China: Linkages between Individual Behavior, Formal and Informal Institutions and Policy Change. In: Dissertation, Otto-Suhr-Institut, FU Berlin