THE SOCIAL SPACE OF GUANGZHOU CITY, CHINA

Abstract

Principal components analysis and cluster analysis we used to analyze the urban social spatial structure of socialist China, using the city proper of Guangzhou in 1984 as the study area. Unlike the urban social spatial structure in Western cities, which are commonly differentiated by socioeconomic status, family status, and ethnicity, it was found that the main components of social space in Guangzhou are population density, educational level, employment, housing quality, and household composition. Five types of social areas are identified: (i) high density, mixed function areas, (2) cadre (government worker) areas, (3) worker areas, (4) intellectual areas, and (5) scattered agricultural areas. The spatial pattern of the social areas of Guanghou has a concentric elliptical shape. The city is composed of a high-density, mixed-function center surrounded by consecutive rings of workers' residences and agricultural land, with a cadre sector abutting the northeastern edge of the city center and two intelectual clusters within the worker areas. The urban social spatial structure of Guangzhou reflects the history of urban development, the housing allocation system, and socialist urban land use planning. Occupation and the location of employment were the major determinants of residential location and the social spatial structure of Chinese cities.