The intra-urban distribution of skilled migrants: Case studies of Shanghai and Nanjing Can Cui * , Stan Geertman, Pieter Hooimeijer Urban and Regional Research Centre, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80115, 3508TC Utrecht, The Netherlands article info Article history: Available online Keywords: Skilled migrants Intra-urban distribution Local context abstract With the maturing of market-oriented reforms over the last two decades, economic restructuring and labor mobility have accelerated, resulting in a remarkable increase in the number of skilled migrants to Chinese cities. Skilled migrants not only differ from traditional rural-to-urban migrants in terms of recruitment in the labor market, but also in their access to housing. Consequently, their distribution over residential areas in the city differs too. Yet economic structure, spatial structure, housing provision and migration policy vary substantially from one city to another, which might result in different patterns in different cities. Taking Shanghai and Nanjing as two case studies, this paper investigates the driving forces underlying the residential distribution of skilled migrants versus all migrants and the total pop- ulation at the sub-district level, using inter-provincial migration data from the 2000 Population Census. Our results show that skilled migrants have better access to the cities compared with all migrants and even compared with urban natives, as they concentrate in the sub-districts with more professional jobs and a larger share of both work unit housing and commercial housing in both Shanghai and Nanjing. Shanghai seems more advanced in the process of housing commercialization, as indicated by the stronger impact of market segments on the concentration of skilled migrants. Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Introduction Rapid economic development and disparities in regional de- velopments have brought about massive domestic migration toward Chinese cities in the last three decades, which in turn has accelerated the process of industrialization and urbanization in the cities. In the early stages, a vigorous development of the manufacturing sector and construction industry attracted a large population of unskilled workers, dominated by rural-to-urban migrants. As Chinese cities undergo the transition from centers of production to centers of consumption, consumerism has emerged. The employment structure in Chinese cities is gradually shifting away from basic manufacturing toward a more diverse range of positions, such as professionals, secretaries, managers and service workers (Pigott, 2002). At the same time, as Chinese higher edu- cation is in the process of universalization, more and more people are well trained and more capable of engaging in skilled jobs. The diversified job opportunities in the urban labor market, together with the growing population of qualified workers, have led to a remarkable increase in the number of skilled migrants. Moreover, this number is expected to keep rising with the deepening of economic restructuring. Another prominent feature of Chinese cities is that the urban spatial structure is undergoing striking reorganization during the course of urban renewal and sprawl, triggered by economic development (Song, Wu, & Zhu, 2010). Social stratification is intensified due to income distribution system reforms and the relaxation of urban household registration regulations in the market-oriented economy. This combination of spatial reorgani- zation and social stratification is creating residential differentiation (Li & Wu, 2008; Liu, He, & Wu, 2008; Wu, 2002; Wu & Li, 2005). In this differentiated urban space, the spatial arrangement of oppor- tunities is changing migrants’ access to the cities. In the central area, the reemergence of commercial activities is shaping a new central business district (CBD), while industrial establishments are relocated to the urban outskirts. Meanwhile, the housing system has changed dramatically from welfare-oriented toward market- oriented (Wang, 2000; Wang & Murie, 2000; Zhao, 2010), making it possible for residents to freely choose the location of their resi- dence. From a spatial perspective, redevelopment in the central city and substantial commodity housing construction in new suburban areas have reshaped the spatial distribution of residential opportunities. * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ31 0302531995. E-mail addresses: c.cui@uu.nl, giscuican@gmail.com (C. Cui). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Habitat International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/habitatint http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2014.04.011 0197-3975/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Habitat International 44 (2014) 1e10