Working and residential segregation of migrants in Longgang City, China: A mobile phone data-based analysis

Despite being a long-established research topic, most urban segregation studies have neither explored the sociospatial disparities beyond the context of housing, nor systematically examined both residential and nonresidential segregation patterns at a very fine spatial scale. Recently, mobile phone data has been increasingly used as a data source to investigate experiences of segregation. While being celebrated for its high spatiotemporal resolution, mobile phone data analysis is often limited by the lack of users' socioeconomic information. To fill these gaps and by taking a small Chinese county city, Longgang, as the case of study, we measure migrants' residential and working segregation experiences through mobile phone data at a 100-metre scale. Results showed that both working and residential populations show a high level of segregation using the population diversity and location quotient indicators, but the segregation experienced by working population is less than that by residential population. Migrants are highly segregated with local citizens, but less segregated in some areas like the industrial zones surrounding the traditional downtown area. This study helps us better understand migrants' working and residential segregation of migrants in subordinate Chinese cities, and inform the planning and policy-making process to promote urban integration.

Automated summary

This study measures the residential and working segregation experiences of migrants in Longgang, a small county city in China, using mobile phone data at a 100-metre scale. The results show that both working and residential populations exhibit a high level of segregation, but the segregation experienced by working population is less than that by residential population. Migrants are highly segregated with local citizens, but less segregated in some areas such as the industrial zones surrounding the traditional downtown area.