Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This study investigates how relocated residents in Guizhou Province navigate everyday life after being moved into newly established communities under China’s targeted poverty alleviation policy. Using the lens of social-ecological systems (SES) theory, the research looks beyond economic statistics to examine how individuals—young and old, male and female—adapt in more personal, social, and structural ways. Drawing on a mixed-methods approach across 64 resettlement sites, the study reveals distinct challenges shaped by age, gender, and the institutional context. Older adults face difficulties adjusting to new urban livelihoods and experience a loss of social identity. Women encounter tension between household responsibilities and limited work opportunities. Children struggle with unfamiliar behavioral norms and emotional insecurity. By tracing how micro-level (individual), meso-level (community), and macro-level (institutional) forces intersect, the paper builds a layered understanding of adaptation. In response, it proposes a “Three Sectors, Five Dimensions” community support model that brings together professional social work, grassroots participation, and targeted policy tools. The study offers a grounded and practical contribution to current debates on forced relocation and adaptive governance, with implications for China and other Global South contexts undergoing similar transitions.
Source: Global-Regional Sociology
DOI: 10.63808/grs.v1i2.74
Authors: Yuanfei Hu, Lin Xu
Institution: Kaili University
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4414196408