A Study On The Motive Mechanism And Social Space Effect Of Middle Class In Nanjing Urban Area

Jiaoyufication, as a new type of gentrification, is a phenomenon caused by the parental-gentrifiers moving into high-quality school district to qualify their children have the access to better school education. This paper, with the case study of the most famous primary and middle schools in Nanjing (Lasalu primary school, Lixue primary school, Langyalu primary school & No.29 middle school), conducts the questionnaire survey and in-depth interview to describe the characteristics of jiaoyufication. (1) The gentrifiers are mainly young and middle-aged with school-age children. Most of them are working for the state-owned enterprises and institutions, business, and services, with excellent educational background. (2) The gentrifiers prefer small and medium-sized apartments and have little interest in refurbishing their houses. (3) The invasion of the gentrifiers results in the displacement of lower-income people. Then, there is the replacement of gentrifiers in the neighborhood community. (4)The apartments in the school districts are old and shabby, but high-quality education resources drive prices soaring. The house price of key school district is much higher than that of general school district in similar region. The level of education resources can be distinguished by the housing prices.Then, the paper analyzes the dynamic mechanism of jiaoyufication. Based on the rent-gap theory, it explains the spatial shift in this process. And, on the basis of Bourdieu’s theory of cultural reproduction, it comprehends jiaoyufication’s socialization from the perspective of cultural inheritance.Finally, it reveals some social-spatial effects from the aspects of urban space and urban community. It promotes the traditional community vitality during the moving in of the gentrifiers. However, it also causes social-class segregation in the neighborhood communities. The education resources allocation has changed from social class differences to spatial isolation. And, Low-income groups are constantly marginalized in jiaoyufication and it would further aggravate residential space differentiation.