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Surviving in the post-repatriation era: home-making strategies of homeless people in post-socialist China

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  • Jinwei Hao
  • Jin Zhu
  • Sian Thompson

Abstract

While Chinese people are technically guaranteed a place to live through the hukou system, homelessness is still an issue in China. Our paper aims to explore the home-making strategies of homeless people in the context of China’s homelessness policy transition from repatriation to assistance in the post-socialist era, using in-depth interviews with homeless people and others interacting with them in Shanghai’s high-prestige downtown area. Drawing on Giddens’ structuration theory, we find that homeless people work to create a sense of home through: 1) avoiding the government service centres where freedom, privacy and social contact are restricted; 2) adapting their routines to rigid place management in the daytime and benefitting from strict security at night; and 3) tactically utilising surrounding spaces and facilities to carry out daily activities and develop a sense of home and control. Government assistance through the service centres is inadequate and may even be diametrically opposed to home-making, highlighting room for improvement in government homelessness policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Jinwei Hao & Jin Zhu & Sian Thompson, 2022. "Surviving in the post-repatriation era: home-making strategies of homeless people in post-socialist China," Housing Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 292-314, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:chosxx:v:37:y:2022:i:2:p:292-314
    DOI: 10.1080/02673037.2020.1867082
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