UK and Chinese social scientists to investigate China’s urban transformation

Researchers from Glasgow, Sheffield and Beijing are to work together to study the transformation of China's cities as migrants move from rural to urban environments in greater numbers. International Centre Partnership funding worth £200,000 from the Economic and Social Research Council (UK) and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) will support 27 researchers across three institutions. The project involves Urban Studies/Urban Big Data Centre at the University of Glasgow; the Applied Quantitative Methods Network (AQMeN) at the University of Sheffield; and the CASS Institute of Urban Development and Environmental Studies in Beijing. Professor Ya Ping Wang, head of Urban Studies at the University of Glasgow and the project Principal Investigator, said: "China's urbanisation is one of the most important current global development issues and Chinese cities provide a very dynamic and large urban laboratory in which urban theories can be developed and tested. "This project aims to bring fresh ideas, new methods and analysis through comparative studies on the impact of migration on cities and related social and spatial segregation problems and the challenges for integration and dealing with inequality." The three-year research project will also involve early career researchers, PhD students, government officials, policy-makers and civil society representatives. The partnership will focus on the socio-spatial dimensions of urban development, migration, segregation and inequality.