{"title":"The Influence of Air Pollution on Older Migrants’ Intentions To Settle in the Destination Cities in China","authors":"Jiarong Zheng, Cuiying Huang, Ye Liu","doi":"10.1007/s12061-025-09719-6","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The rapid increase in the number of older migrants in China has highlighted the need for a nuanced and comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing their settlement intentions. However, previous research on older migrants’ settlement intention in China tends to neglect the role of air pollution. Using data from the 2017 and 2018 China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS), this study examines whether the severity of air pollution affects older migrants’ intentions to settle in the destination city. The research presents two contributions to the literature. First, we provide the first systematic evidence on how air pollution shapes older migrants’ settlement decisions in host cities. Second, in response to the disparities in health status and adaptive capacities observed between older migrants and working-age groups, we develop age-specific policies designed to address their elevated vulnerability profiles. Findings demonstrate that urban air pollution adversely impacts older migrants’ settlement intentions, with each one-unit rise in the Air Quality Index (AQI) reducing their Likelihood of permanent settlement by 0.1% points. Additionally, our research reveals that older migrants with agricultural <i>hukou</i> status, higher educational attainment, lower income, longer migration duration, and less exposure to air pollution in their hometowns are more vulnerable to air pollution’s negative impacts.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":46392,"journal":{"name":"Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy","volume":"18 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12061-025-09719-6","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The rapid increase in the number of older migrants in China has highlighted the need for a nuanced and comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing their settlement intentions. However, previous research on older migrants’ settlement intention in China tends to neglect the role of air pollution. Using data from the 2017 and 2018 China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS), this study examines whether the severity of air pollution affects older migrants’ intentions to settle in the destination city. The research presents two contributions to the literature. First, we provide the first systematic evidence on how air pollution shapes older migrants’ settlement decisions in host cities. Second, in response to the disparities in health status and adaptive capacities observed between older migrants and working-age groups, we develop age-specific policies designed to address their elevated vulnerability profiles. Findings demonstrate that urban air pollution adversely impacts older migrants’ settlement intentions, with each one-unit rise in the Air Quality Index (AQI) reducing their Likelihood of permanent settlement by 0.1% points. Additionally, our research reveals that older migrants with agricultural hukou status, higher educational attainment, lower income, longer migration duration, and less exposure to air pollution in their hometowns are more vulnerable to air pollution’s negative impacts.
期刊介绍：
Description
The journal has an applied focus: it actively promotes the importance of geographical research in real world settings
It is policy-relevant: it seeks both a readership and contributions from practitioners as well as academics
The substantive foundation is spatial analysis: the use of quantitative techniques to identify patterns and processes within geographic environments
The combination of these points, which are fully reflected in the naming of the journal, establishes a unique position in the marketplace.
RationaleA geographical perspective has always been crucial to the understanding of the social and physical organisation of the world around us. The techniques of spatial analysis provide a powerful means for the assembly and interpretation of evidence, and thus to address critical questions about issues such as crime and deprivation, immigration and demographic restructuring, retailing activity and employment change, resource management and environmental improvement. Many of these issues are equally important to academic research as they are to policy makers and Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy aims to close the gap between these two perspectives by providing a forum for discussion of applied research in a range of different contexts
Topical and interdisciplinaryIncreasingly government organisations, administrative agencies and private businesses are requiring research to support their ‘evidence-based’ strategies or policies. Geographical location is critical in much of this work which extends across a wide range of disciplines including demography, actuarial sciences, statistics, public sector planning, business planning, economics, epidemiology, sociology, social policy, health research, environmental management.
FocusApplied Spatial Analysis and Policy will draw on applied research from diverse problem domains, such as transport, policing, education, health, environment and leisure, in different international contexts. The journal will therefore provide insights into the variations in phenomena that exist across space, it will provide evidence for comparative policy analysis between domains and between locations, and stimulate ideas about the translation of spatial analysis methods and techniques across varied policy contexts. It is essential to know how to measure, monitor and understand spatial distributions, many of which have implications for those with responsibility to plan and enhance the society and the environment in which we all exist.
Readership and Editorial BoardAs a journal focused on applications of methods of spatial analysis, Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy will be of interest to scholars and students in a wide range of academic fields, to practitioners in government and administrative agencies and to consultants in private sector organisations. The Editorial Board reflects the international and multidisciplinary nature of the journal.
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