RAE de Hong Kong (China)
China
In the wake of the recent announcement by the State Council concerning the provisionof public rental housing across China, and the gradual reform of China’s householdregistration system (hukou), this article explores how potential adjustments ingovernment housing policies (namely access to public rental housing) influence thehousing preferences of temporary migrants who are currently residing inside thechengzhongcun (urban villages) of Shenzhen. The results indicate that dissatisfactionwith rental cost and living conditions in these urban villages are the key reasons formigrants wishing to move into public rental housing if it is offered to them — and not thefact that they are treated differently within the hukou system. Public rental housing iswelcomed in particular by newly arriving migrants who live outside the ShenzhenSpecial Economic Zone (SEZ), and migrants who have decided to remain in Shenzhenfor the foreseeable future. By contrast, dissatisfaction with urban villages is the solecontributor to housing preferences for those residing inside the SEZ.