a premably PRC poster Chon Tang has posted a clarification
on how the PRC manages its inflow of labour into cities.
in another forum.
--
All Chinese citizens have a registered residence("hukou"),
referring to a specific city/village. In the past, this was
a strict system that limited where you could work and
receive public services (like education/medical care).
The hukou registration system is being phased out over
the next 4-5 years. It is already basically meaningless
in most cities, with few employers actually caring about
registered hukou. Public services are still generally limited
to those with proper hukou, however.
But I think the real reason urban slums haven't yet
arisen is because of the power of the state. Land isn't
privately owned (although they can be leased for long
periods of time, like hundreds of years), and local
governments always have the right to move you/tear down entire neighborhoods
at will. Any slum neighborhoods that grow are
erased whenever necessary, and those without proper hukou
sent back to their homes.
The government also takes aggressive steps to make sure sufficient
housing exist for those permitted to stay. Building high-rise
apartments (and roads/bus-lines to service such apartments) in the
suburbs is just another necessary infrastructural investment the Chinese
government spends extravagantly on.
This is a legacy of the planned economy of 20 years ago, but even
today, it's rare for an urban dweller to be
homeless. If they are employed, they have a place to stay
courtesy of the firm/the state.
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