The Impact of Spatial Mismatch on Residents in Low-income Housing Neighbourhoods: A Study of the Guangzhou Metropolis, China

This article verifies the hypothesis that a spatial mismatch between jobs and housing exists in two typical low-income housing neighbourhoods, Tangxia and Tongde, in Guangzhou city, where surveys were undertaken. The research shows that the types of residents in Tangxia and Tongde have changed significantly during the past few years. Housing types transferred comprise subsidised rental housing, commercial housing and private lease housing. At the same time, the jobs–housing mismatch among residents in subsidised rental and commercial houses has become striking. The mechanisms responsible for the mismatch vary from a passive process for residents in subsidised rental housing to an active process for those in commercial housing. In comparison, private lease housing residents do not experience a jobs–housing mismatch. This result shows that, with the interaction of the legacy of the socialist land and housing market with the new market-orientated system, government still plays an important role in housing supply. This is especially so for low-income families, who face a ‘passive’ jobs–housing relocation and mismatch, while the market-orientated parts of the system play an active role in people’s job–housing relocation.