Migrant populations in some Chinese cities have already surpassed local registered populations, often by large margins. While this benefits urban development, we badly need higher-level social management innovations, Cao Dongbo, an associate professor at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, wrote for the China Youth Daily.
Local people living in city outskirts often will eventually move to city centers. Non-native populations move into the outskirts, finding work either in manufacturing or agricultural production. This group helps guarantee that food and other products reach city centers while creating extra income from transactions of land management rights for local farmers, Cao wrote.
But systems for traditional static populations and village management are ill fitted to serve the current situation, he warned. Instead, local administrators should protect the legitimate rights and interests of locals while guaranteeing the floating population access to quality social services.
Besides concerns about overreliance on floating populations, Cao also noted some local urban residents feel threatened by them. Balancing conflicts between the two groups while guaranteeing the legal rights of floating populations pose challenges for city managers, especially against the backdrop of city population control.
Given the soaring population size, and complicated social structures and diverse classes, innovations in grassroots social management are badly needed, Cao said.
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