Understanding Spatial-Temporal Patterns of the Ethnic Minority Mobility in China’s Urbanization (SpringerBriefs in Geography)

This book discusses the urbanization of China and identifies four major features of ethnic minority mobility partners over the last twenty years: the three-stage peripheral-to-core transition pattern; the escalating decline of the urban minority population in the central region of China, particularly since 2000; the city agglomerations located in the eastern region of China, which have begun playing a leading role in minority urbanization, especially in the Yangtze and Pearl River Delta; and lastly, the continuous beneficiaries of supportive policies that have led metropolises, such as provincial capitals, to be shaped into important regional minority population concentrations in both China’s western region and its autonomous areas. Presenting the first comprehensive, retrospective study on the evolution of the spatial-temporal distribution of ethnic groups, focusing on Chinese urbanization on a national scale and based on the three most recent national censuses, the book provides insights into Chinese urbanization processes and their inter/intra-relating mechanisms in ethnic minority areas. Given its scope, it is a valuable resource for scholars, policy and – ultimately – decision-makers wanting to improve the processes of sustainable and inclusive urbanization in China. About This Book Contents Acronyms Important Pinyin List of Figures List of Maps List of Tables 1 Introduction References 2 Urbanization in China 2.1 The Historical Processes 2.2 Features of Contemporary Chinese Urbanization 2.2.1 Social Mobility and Chinese Urbanization 2.2.2 Rural Urbanization or Townization 2.2.3 Driving Forces in the Contemporary Chinese Urbanization Process 2.3 Understanding the Ethnic Minority Experience in Contemporary China 2.3.1 Ethnic Identification in China 2.3.2 Ethnology in China Since 1949 2.3.3 Studies from National, Regional and City Scales 2.3.4 Inclusions and Adaptations to Cities 2.3.5 Inter-Ethnic and Han-Ethnic Relationship 2.4 Research Objective and Questions 2.5 Conceptual Frameworks References 3 Methodology 3.1 Studied Period, Areas and Ethnic Minority Population 3.1.1 Overview 3.1.2 Study Period and Area 3.1.3 Defining the Urban Ethnic Minority 3.2 Data Resources 3.2.1 Selection of Variables 3.2.2 Challenges and Limitations 3.3 Analysis Methods 3.3.1 Standard Deviational Ellipse and GIS Visualization References 4 Dynamics of Urban Ethnic Minorities Distribution in China 4.1 An Overview of the Ethno-Regional Context in China 4.1.1 Demographic Changes to Minorities in Urban China 4.2 Minority Urbanization in Cities 4.2.1 Chinese Cities in Transition Since 1990 4.2.2 Reviewing City Change in the Ethno-Regional Context 4.3 Ethnic Minority Distributions in Cities 4.3.1 Distributional Transformation Between 1990 and 2000 4.3.2 Distributional Transformation Between 2000 and 2010 4.3.3 Summary 4.4 Reviewing Cities in Change According to Urban Minorities 4.4.1 Cities with a Growing Ethnic Minority Population 4.4.2 Cities with Declining Ethnic Minority Population 4.4.3 Summary 4.5 The Transitional Patterns of the Urban Ethnic Minority Population 4.5.1 County-Levels Cities 4.5.2 Prefecture-Levels Cities 4.5.3 Cities Higher Than Prefecture Level 4.5.4 The General Trend of Urban Minorities Distribution Using SDE 4.5.5 Summary References 5 New Features of the Urban Ethnic Population Distribution 5.1 Spatial-Aggregation of Urban Ethnic Minorities 5.1.1 Declining Role of County-Level Cities 5.1.2 Increasing Importance of Prefecture-Level Cities and Cities Above 5.1.3 Summary: A Periphery to Core Transition 5.2 Decline of Urban Minorities in the Central Region 5.2.1 Comparison of Two Sub-Regions 5.2.2 Summary 5.3 The New Roles of City Agglomeration 5.3.1 Changing Roles of City Agglomerations in the Eastern Region 5.3.2 City Agglomerations in the Central Region 5.3.3 Summary 5.4 Minority Urbanization in Ethnic Autonomous Areas/Western Region 5.4.1 Important Roles of Provincial Capitals and Large Cities 5.4.2 City Agglomerations in Western China Region/Ethnic Autonomous Areas 5.4.3 Summary References 6 Conclusion 6.1 Research Review 6.1.1 Spatial Aggregation of Urban Minorities: A Peripheral to Core Transition 6.1.2 Decline of the Urban Minorities in Central Region 6.1.3 Changing Roles of City Agglomerations in the Eastern Region 6.1.4 Important Roles of Provincial Capitals in the Ethnic Autonomous Areas/Western Region 6.2 Empirical Contributions 6.3 Limitations and Directions for Future Studies References Appendix A New Established Cities Appendix B Cities Promoted into Higher Administrative Level Appendix C Cities Merged into Higher Jurisdiction Bibliography