The 10th annual Bob and Kim Griffin Building U.S.-China Bridges Lecture, held in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebration, was presented by Weiping Wu, professor of urban and environmental policy and planning at Tufts University. Her lecture, "Migration and China’s Urban Transformation," focused on the outcomes of China’s rapid industrialization and how migration affects the socio-spatial reconfiguration of cities, as well as how migrants access the full range of citizenship rights.
Industrialization and urbanization of China grew significantly between 1980 and 2008. Agricultural employment declined from 69 to 41 percent, while urbanization increased dramatically from 19.4 to almost 45 percent. This change resulted in a wide gap between urban and rural areas. Dr. Wu explained that a reason for the change is a more relaxed household registration system. Although family registers date back to ancient China, the hukou system that was implemented in 1958 allowed the Chinese government to control the movement of people between urban and rural areas, essentially creating two different populations. The system required individuals to be registered in one place, making it difficult to relocate to the cities where there were more opportunities. As a result, the rural population began increasing faster, creating a large pool of workers. When the hukou was relaxed in 1983, a wave of migrants brought rural workers to the cities where they could find factory jobs, make higher wages, and help their families back in the rural areas.
The divide between the migrant workers and the urban society, however, is still visible. Housing is very limited and private ownership in the cities is almost impossible. Migrants end up renting apartments or dormitories, sacrificing living conditions for proximity to work and low cost. Wu focused on how the separation between the two classes is evident in society and how it affects not only the socio-cultural relationship, but also China as a whole in the long term.
About the Lecture
The lecture series is endowed through a generous gift from Bob and Kim Griffin. The Griffins are committed to promoting mutual respect between U.S. and Chinese cultures and are passionate about connecting people with China.