Abstract:

This paper discusses two topics： The first is about how the floating population uses collective strategies for the central concern of urban life adaptation derived from social interaction and relational ties in order to lower survival risks due to the stigmatic situation and the institutional exclusion； the second is about how the collective network based on dailylife practice interacts with the community structure， which in turn affects the development of the community. The author’s empirical study of a community condense with migrating workers confirmed the initiative of these migrating workers as agents of social practice. Their adoption of different strategies for assimilation， relational adaptation and developmental adaptation to adjust to the urban life in different stages showed their selfdetermined selectivity when facing the stigmatic situation， which resulted in the overall structural change of the migration community. Placing the adaptation process of the floating population while adjusting to the urban life in the context of their community change， the author used the analytic approach focused on coemerging and covarying to overcome the simplification tendency in the assimilation theory so that a better understanding of the floating population could be achieved.

Key words: co-emerging and co-varying, coping strategies, floating population, stigma