Changing Neighborhood Environment and Residents’ Subjective Well-Being in Urbanizing China

Urbanization has been one of the primary forces driving the spatial configuration and the demographic, socio-economic, and political transformation of China’s grassroots neighborhoods. Although the scale of urbanization in China, together with its global influence, has generated a rapidly expanding field of study, the literature dealing with the country’s rural-urban transition at the neighborhood level is primarily based on cross-sectional surveys or case studies of specific localities. Few efforts have been made to present a more complete picture of the neighborhoods undergoing transition, the residents experiencing in-situ urbanization, and the associated consequences and challenges. In this paper, we aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of the changes in neighborhood environment of places experiencing in-situ urbanization, and examine the effects of such changes on the urbanized residents’ subjective well-being.

Based on the 2018 Urbanization and Quality of Life Survey and the 2024 follow-up survey we conducted in 40 township-level administrative units undergoing rural-urban transition via administrative reclassification, we will deal with the endogenous issues that have limited the scope and reliability of existing research based on cross-sectional data. We are also collecting and compiling factual information (such as administrative reclassification, demographic composition, land use, health facilities, and social services) on selected neighborhoods in the 40 townships, and integrating this information with the survey data.

With the multi-level data, we will examine the changing neighborhood environment and its effects on the in-situ urbanized residents’ subjective well-being, and reveal the important role of community facilities and social services in promoting citizens’ subjective well-being. The research will shed light on the administrative and territorial factors directing China’s ongoing urbanization, and will contribute to both academic and policy discussions concerning rural-urban transition, effective social service provision, sustainable urban development, and citizens’ well-being.