Commodity housing construction and intra-urban migration in Beijing

Based on a survey of households conducted in 1996, this study analyses the pattern of residential moves resulting from commodity housing development in Beijing. While short-distance moves were important, a large proportion of the moves recorded were of longer distance. A clear suburbanisation trend is discerned. The work units and the housing bureaux to a significant extent still controlled residential location and relocation in the city, even though housing in the primary market had become a commodity. A logistic regression analysis of the data shows that people who relied on the work units for housing were more inclined to end up in the outer city districts, whereas people who depended on the housing bureaux for welfare housing were more likely to be provided with inner city residences. The results also indicate the continued importance of membership of the Chinese Communist Party and its powerful influence on residential location.