Abstract

Chinese post-migratory urban lives seem to be discussed merely from a sociological perspective in most current studies with the dynamics of urban public space seldom considered. My research explores the role of public space in the integration process by both expanding the concept of integration and examining migrant uses and senses of place, based on fieldwork in a Chinese megacity. The evidence suggests that urban public space can promote integration in various ways, and this presentation focuses on how migrant uses of such space, arguably linked to migrant citizenship, is influenced by temporal factors, alongside the interplay of migrants’ financial burdens and institutional restrictions. One the other hand, lengthy residence in the host city may promote migrants’ acculturation, local socialisation and identity-building as ‘insiders’, which indicates migrant integration’s different dimensions can be connected through ‘time’. Recommendations oriented to migrant routine, citizenship and cultural implications of urban public space are discussed at the end of the presentation.