A Study On The Social Spatial Differentiation Of Kunming City Based On The Standard Of The Neighborhood Committee

With the development of globalization, market-oriented reforms of economy and society in Chinese cities accelerate social-spatial differentiation and residential segregation in Kunming begins to appear. Consequently, studies on the social-spatial differentiation in Chinese cities also start since1990s. However, previous studies had failed to break the limitations of the statistical analysis of social space, thus ignored the importance of the spatial data properties. Simultaneously, those researches were at scale of town or jiedao and hadn’t underutilized data at community level. This paper studies the social-spatial differentiation in Kunming by the fifth census data at the community level combined with an accurate map. It can overcome the spatial data deficiency in sociologically oriented researches, and enrich the domestic study at the community scale. Moreover, the study of social-spatial differentiation is instructive to urban planning and sustainable development of Kunming.This paper describes the related concepts of urban social space and social space differentiation, and comprehensively analysis the relevant researches urban social-spatial differentiation at home and abroad, providing a theoretical foundation for this research. Based on the fifth population census data of2000at the community (or juweihui) level, this paper examines the socio-spatial differentiation of the inner city of Kunming in2000: Firstly,40variables are extracted from the census data, including the information of demographic characteristics, education, the employment status and housing situation. The paper analyzes the matrix formed by40variables and431census tracts with the method of ecological factorial analysis using SPSS17.0software, and extracts12factors that influence the social spatial structure of Kunming. By the use of social area analysis and hierarchical clustering method, the inner city is divided into8different types of social areas. Then the text explores the characteristics and spatial differences between the various social areas. Afterwards this article discusses the affecting elements and the social effects of social-spatial differentiation based on the above analysis. Finally, strategies are raised to reasonably guide the social-spatial differentiation in Kunming.The main conclusions of this paper include the followings:(1) there are12factors which have an impact on the urban social-spatial structure of the inner city of Kunming, including group of intellectuals, families of jiaoyufication, buyers groups of new real estate etc.:(2) Kunming can be divided into8types of social areas, including middle-income residential areas, residential district of affordable housing groups and the new elite residential area etc. and those areas show a strong mixing characteristics;(3) the reform of the social distribution system, housing system and the market-oriented reforms, land system reform and old city regeneration, the civic policies of urban management and development, census register system, inertia of urban development, and globalization constitute the main factors of the mechanism of social-spatial differentiation in Kunming;(4) Objectively, although socio-spatial differentiation in Kunming has brought some positive effects, more attention should be paid to the negative influences which caused frequent social inequities, imbalanced distribution of social resources and inefficient and unsustainable use of land resources. Several feasible strategies about urban planning policies and urban construction are put forward to reduce the negative effects of Kunming social spatial differentiation.