Housing and identity expression among in-situ urbanised rural residents in China

Abstract

Housing is an important source of identity expression, but the influence of different housing attributes remains underexplored. Drawing on the ‘4Cs theory of housing’ (housing cost, housing conditions, housing consistency and housing context), this study established an analytical framework linking housing to in-situ urbanised rural residents′ identity expression in China. Using data from the 2018 Urbanization and Quality of Life Survey, the results show that different housing dimensions are significantly related to identity expression but in different ways. Specifically, housing conditions are primarily associated with urban identity, whereas housing consistency and housing context are significantly related to local identity. Moreover, the relationship between housing and identity expression varies between newly urbanised areas and potential sites for urbanization. The research contributes to understanding the relationship between housing and identity by further clarifying how various housing attributes affect identity expression in the context of urbanising China.