Abstract
Research on the spatial mismatch experienced by low-income minority residents is US-centric. However, spatial mismatch is not necessarily an appropriate term when considering the situation of low-wage workers in cities of northwestern China where there is higher proximity between jobs and housing and lower levels of residential segregation. This paper empirically examines the jobs-housing spatial relationship for one of the most typical low-wage groups, namely, public janitors, in Xi’an, China. Also, the causes of the jobs-housing spatial relationship are discussed in detail. Individual-level data based on in-depth interviews and questionnaires, as well as the GIS network analysis method, are used to provide baseline analyses of the jobs-housing spatial relationship. Results indicate that there is no jobs-housing spatial mismatch for public janitors in Xi’an. This can be implied from the short commuting distance and time. A basic cause is that most public janitors rent low-cost accommodation in villages-in-the-city, and in old residential quarters, near to their places of work. Other causes lie in off-peak commuting and high sensitivity to commuting distance due to the greater extent of non-motorized commuting modes. The conclusions, based on a large number of social surveys, are an illuminating analysis of the spatial mismatch issue among low-wage workers in Chinese cities.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bi L, Fan Y, Gao Met al., 2019. Spatial mismatch, enclave effects and employment outcomes for rural migrant workers: Empirical evidence from Yunnan Province, China. Habitat International, 86: 48–60. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2019.02.008
Cooke T J, Shumway J M, 1991. Developing the spatial mismatch hypothesis: problems of accessibility to employment for low-wage central city labor. Urban Geography, 12(4): 310–323. doi: https://doi.org/10.2747/0272-3638.12.4.310
Covington K L, 2009. Spatial mismatch of the poor: An explanation of recent declines in job isolation. Journal of Urban Affairs, 31(5): 559–587. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9906.2009.00455.x
National Bureau of Statistics, 2018. Per capita disposable wage income of urban residents: Cumulative value. Available at: https://data.stats.gov.cn/easyquery.htm?cn=E0105
DeRango K, 2001. Can commutes be used to test the spatial mismatch hypothesis? Urban Studies, 38(8): 1521–1529. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00420980126670
Fan Y, Allen R, Sun T, 2014. Spatial mismatch in Beijing, China: Implications of job accessibility for Chinese low-wage workers. Habitat International, 44: 202–210. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2014.06.002
Gobillon L, Selod H, 2014. Spatial mismatch, poverty, and vulnerable populations. In: Fischer M M and Nijkamp P (eds), Handbook of Regional Science. Springer, 93–107. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23430-9_7
Gobillon L, Selod H, Zenou Y, 2007. The mechanisms of spatial mismatch. Urban Studies, 44(12): 2401–2427. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00420980701540937
Gottlieb P D, Lentnek B, 2001. Spatial mismatch is not always a central-city problem: an analysis of commuting behavior in Cleveland, Ohio, and its suburbs. Urban Studies, 38: 1161–1186. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00420980124613
Hellerstein J K, Neumark D, McInerney M, 2008. Spatial mismatch or racial mismatch? Journal of Urban Economics, 64: 464–479. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2008.04.003
Holzer H J, 1991. The spatial mismatch hypothesis: what has the evidence shown? Urban Studies, 28: 105–122. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00420989120080071
Holzer H J, Ihlanfeldt K R, 996. Spatial factors and the employment of blacks at the firm level. New England Economic Review, May/June Special Issue: 65–82. doi: 10.1.1.217.3853
Hu L, 2015. Job accessibility of the poor in Los Angeles: Has suburbanization affected spatial mismatch? Journal of the American Planning Association, 81(1): 30–45. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2015.1042014
Houston D S, 2001. Spatial barriers to employment within metropolitan areas: testing the spatial mismatch hypothesis using evidence from firm relocations in the Glasgow conurbation. Scotland: University of Glasgow.
Houston D S, 2005. Methods to test the spatial mismatch hypothesis. Economic Geography, 81(4): 407–434. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-8287.2005.tb00281.x
Hughes M A, Madden J F, 1991. Residential segregation and the economic status of black workers: new evidence for an old debate. Journal of Urban Economics, 29: 28–49. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/0094-1190(91)90024-2
Ihlanfeldt K R, Sjoquist D L, 1991. The effect of job access on black youth employment: across-sectional analysis. Urban Studies, 28: 255–265. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00420989120080231
Ihlanfeldt K R, 1993. Intra-urban job accessibility and Hispanic youth employment rates. Journal of Urban Economics, 33(2): 254–271. doi: https://doi.org/10.1006/juec.1993.1016
Ihlanfeldt K R, 1997. Information on the spatial distribution of job opportunities within metropolitan areas. Journal of Urban Economics, 41(2): 218–242. doi: https://doi.org/10.1006/juec.1996.1098
Ihlanfeldt K R, Sjoquist D L, 1998. The spatial mismatch hypothesis: a review of recent studies and their implications for welfare reform. Housing Policy Debate, 9(4): 849–892. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.1998.9521321
Ihlanfeldt K R, Young M V, 1996. The spatial distribution of black employment between the central city and the suburbs. Economic Inquiry, 34(4): 693–707. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-7295.1996.tb01405.x
Immergluck D, 1998. Job proximity and the urban employment problem: do suitable nearby jobs improve neighborhood employment rates? A comment. Urban Studies, 35(1): 7–23. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/0042098985041
Kain J F, 1968. Housing segregation, Negro employment, and metropolitan decentralization. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 82(2): 175–197. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/1885893
Kain J F, 1992. The spatial mismatch hypothesis: three decades later. Housing Policy Debate, 3(2): 371–460. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.1992.9521100
Li S M, 2010. Evolving residential and employment locations and patterns of commuting under hyper growth: The case of Guangzhou, China. Urban Studies, 47(8): 1643–1661. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098009356118
McLafferty S, Preston V, 1992. Spatial mismatch and labor market segmentation for African-American and Latina women. Economic Geography, 68(4): 406–431. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/144026
Preston V, McLafferty S, 1999. Spatial mismatch research in the 1990s: progress and potential. Paper in Regional Science, 78(4): 387–402. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s101100050033
Sanchez T, Shen Q, Peng Z R, 2004. Transit mobility, jobs access and low-income labour participation in US metropolitan areas. Urban Studies, 41(7): 1313–1331. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/0042098042000214815
Stoll M A, 1999. Spatial job search, spatial mismatch, and the employment and wages of racial and ethnic groups in Los Angeles. Journal of Urban Economics, 46(1): 129–155. doi: https://doi.org/10.1006/juec.1998.2116
Taylor D B, Ong P M, 1995. Spatial mismatch or automobile mismatch? An examination of race, residence, and commuting in US metropolitan areas. Urban Studies, 32(9): 1453–1473. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00420989550012348
Thompson M A, 1997. The impact of spatial mismatch on female labor force participation. Economic Development Quarterly, 11(2): 138–145. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/089124249701100203
Wang D, Chai Y, 2009. The jobs-housing relationship and commuting in Beijing, China: the legacy of Danwei. Journal of Transport Geography, 17(1): 30–38. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2008.04.005
Wang E, Song J, Xu T, 2011. From ‘spatial bond’ to ‘spatial mismatch’: an assessment of changing jobs-housing relationship in Beijing. Habitat International, 35(2): 398–409. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint2010.11.008
Zhang C, Man J, 2015. Examining job accessibility of the urban poor by urban metro and bus: a case study of Beijing. Urban Rail Transit, 1(4): 183–193. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40864-015-0026-5
Zhou Jiangping, Chen Xiaojian, Huang Wei et al., 2013. Jobs-housing balance and commute efficiency in cities of central and western China: a case study of Xi’an. Acta Geographica Sinica, 68(10): 1316–1330. (in Chinese)
Zhou S, Liu Y, Kwan M, 2016. Spatial mismatch in post-reform urban China: a case study of a relocated state-owned enterprise in Guangzhou. Habitat International, 58: 1–11. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2016.08.003
Zhu Jing, Dong Xin, He Jianxiong et al., 2015. The commuting characteristics of residents in metropolis in Plain area of western China: a case study of Xi’ an, Shaanxi province. Human Geography, (3)118–124. (in Chinese)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Foundation item
Under the auspices of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41601158, 41871162)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chen, C., Cheng, L., Xiu, C. et al. Spatial Mismatch or Not? Evidence from Public Janitors in Xi’an, China. Chin. Geogr. Sci. 31, 376–386 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-021-1194-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-021-1194-8