Impact of Zhengzhou Subway System on Adjacent Migrant Neighborhoods

Subway has advantages of large capacity, fast speed, punctuality, less pollution, low energy consumption and so on. It has become a chief means of public transportation and an important approach to solve the traffic problems in big cities. The purpose of this research is to investigate the impacts of the new subway lines (Line 1 and Line 2) in Zhengzhou on adjacent migrant neighborhoods. To study the impacts of Zhengzhou subway system, I conducted door-to-door surveys and interviews on household level in the two target communities (West Guanhutun and Yanzhuang). The major findings of this research reveal the negative impact of the subway system on migrant neighborhoods. The introduction of subway system in Zhengzhou provided more commute options, but since the two lines have not formed a mature subway network, the subway did not significantly shorten local residents’ commute time. Meanwhile, though the emergence of subway system brought added value to surrounding properties, the rapid increase in rent aggravated migrants’ living burden and further led to shifts in property use and local demographic composition. The vulnerability of migrant group is rooted in China’s household registration system, and connected with local development policies. The findings of this research show the importance of taking minority group’s voice into policy-making process and would be helpful for future development of metro system in the city.