Sense of Place and the Residence Intention of On-Demand Platform Workers in China’s Megacities

This study examines the governance challenges posed by new forms of employment in the context of China’s new urbanization, focusing particularly on the widespread phenomenon of “residing without settling” among on-demand platform workers in megacities. Based on a survey of 1627 respondents in Guangzhou, the findings reveal a pronounced gradient stratification in on-demand platform workers’ residence intention. Specifically, 57.3% of respondents demonstrate positive short-term residence intention, whereas long-term residence intention is predominantly characterized by neutral attitudes (73.3%), and settlement intention exhibits a clearly negative tendency (67.8%). Structural Equation Modeling indicates that residential environment exerts the strongest positive effect on sense of place (β = 0.47), followed by economic foundation (β = 0.24), while social capital demonstrates the weakest promoting effect (β = 0.22). Scenario analysis using Bayesian Network further reveals that when place attachment reaches a high level, the probability of positive long-term residence intention among on-demand platform workers increases by 22.1%, whereas improvements in residential environment reduce the probability of negative settlement intention by 5.2 percentage points. The results demonstrate that the residence intention of on-demand platform workers arises from the interplay of socioeconomic conditions, material space and emotional embedding. Notably, the sense of place forms a critical emotional attachment mechanism through a mediating effect. Economic deprivation acts as the primary constraint, while environmental quality serves as a fundamental limiting factor. Conversely, social capital accumulation partially mitigates these barriers. The findings contribute to a nuanced understanding of urban inclusiveness and labor force stability in the digital economy. Moreover, this study provides policy insights for optimizing urban population structures and fostering socially sustainable development.