Usage of Urban Space and Sociospatial Differentiation of Income Groups: A Case Study of Nanjing, China

Abstract

With rapid economic and urban development in recent decades, sociospatial inequalities in Chinese cities are exacerbating. In China, the sociospatial structure of cities has experienced tremendous changes during the economic transition. Based on a person-based perspective, this study explores the relationship between urban spaces and individual behaviours of low-income and non-low-income groups in general and at the community level. The results indicate that low-income residents are more likely constrained to outer suburbs than non-low-income residents. However, differences in urban-space use between income groups vary in different communities. The differences in inner-city communities are the most moderate, while the differences are the most significant in affordable housing communities. The logistic regression models reveal that the income variable influences only the outer-suburb individuals’ use of urban space.