Moving to a healthier city? An analysis from China's internal population migration

Abstract

A healthy urban environment is considered as an important issue for the amenity and equity of migrants. China has one of the largest internal population movements in the world, and the environmental health of its migrants becomes a growing concern. Based on the 1‰ microdata from the 2015 1% population sample survey, this study uses the spatial visualization and spatial econometric interaction model to reveal intercity population migration patterns and the role of environmental health in China. The results are as follows. First, the main direction of population migration is toward economically developed high class cities, especially the eastern coast where the intercity population migration is most active. However, these major destinations are not necessarily the healthiest areas for the environment. Second, environmentally friendly cities are mainly located in the southern region. Among them, the areas with less serious atmospheric pollution are mainly distributed in the south, climate comfort zones are mainly located in the southeastern region, but areas with more urban green space are mainly distributed in the northwestern region. Third, compared with socioeconomic factors, environmental health factors have not yet become a major driver of population migration. Migrants often place higher value on income than on environmental health. The government should focus not only on the public service wellbeing of migrant workers, but also on their environmental health vulnerability.

Adaptation Strategies of Migrant Students in Adjusting to a New Campus Environment

“…According to Ravenstein in Alexander and Steidl (2012), one of the leading causes of population migration is the factor of distance. This is further supported by the push and pulls factors of migration, as disclosed by Lee, which indicate that the origin and destination conditions influence the volume of migration (Gao et al, 2023).…”

Environmental health, economy, and amenities interactively drive migration patterns among China's older people

“…The impact of environmental factors on older adults may be more obvious and serious during migration. Environmental health factors are defined as environmental factors affecting population health ( 30 ). In this study, air quality, elevation, humidity, and temperature ( 31 ) were selected as proxy variables of environmental health factors ( Table 1 ).…”