The Structure and Formation Mechanism of Socio-Spatial Evolution in the Immigration City: A Case Study of Zhuhai

Population, family, housing, occupation and other indicators are selected to extract the principal components of the characteristics of social areas in Zhuhai by means of the principal component analysis. With the cluster analysis, different types of social areas in Zhuhai are classified according to the principal components, and then the formation mechanism of social area evolution is analyzed. The main conclusions are as follows. First, transient population and local multi-generation households are two persistent main factors. The differences and interaction between them are the main reasons for the spatial characteristics and the evolution of Zhuhai's social areas. Second, the trend of integration in the evolution of Zhuhai's social areas is mainly based on the renewal and expansion of social areas in the old city area. A strong layer structure and residential segregation are present, i.e., the highly educated population is concentrated in the core area while the low-skilled migrant workers and the rural population are in the fringe of the city. Third, with the urban expansion and economic development, the industrial parks, higher education parks and urban sub-centers have greatly affected the spatial structure of Zhuhai's social areas. Fourth, compared with non-immigrant cities, the migrant population has a stronger influence on the main factors and the division of social areas and has a wider spatial distribution in Zhuhai. Finally, the mechanism of the socio-spatial evolution in Zhuhai is composed of the natural conditions and historical factors, urban planning, institutional change and the flow of population.