Abstract: This paper examines whether the spatial concentration of migrants from the same province of origin is associated with a larger social distance toward the native residents in Shanghai. We develop theoretical hypotheses that the spatial concentration of in-group members, measured as migrants with the same province of origin, reinforces their group identity and enlarges their perceived social distance toward natives. Applying spatial clustering analysis to government register-based data, we first define spatial concentration as a high representation of in-group members in a series of adjacent neighborhoods. Specifically, we adopt the Hot Spot Analysis tool to calculate the Getis-Ord Gi^* statistics for the distribution of each migrant group across residential neighborhoods and identify statistically significant spatial clusters of high values(hot spots) and low values(cold spots). We then link respondents with government register-based data by information on the geographic location of each respondent in the SUNS and distinguish migrants living in spatially clustered neighborhoods from their counterparts living elsewhere.
This study has two main findings. First, the spatial concentration of in-group members reinforces group identity. Migrants living in spatially clustered neighborhoods tend to demonstrate a higher level of group identity than their counterparts living elsewhere. Second, group boundaries highlighted by the spatial concentration of in-group members enlarge the social distance between migrants and native residents. That is, migrants living in spatially clustered neighborhoods tend to have a larger social distance toward natives. We argue that the increased social distance can be explained by the residential segregation created by the spatial concentration of in-group members. We further classify spatially clustered neighborhoods into segregated and non-segregated neighborhoods. Compared with migrants living in non-clustered neighborhoods, only those living in segregated neighborhoods have a larger social distance toward native residents. We suspect that the social norms and culture of migrants are maintained by the spatial concentration of in-group members in local neighborhoods. The group solidarity created by residential segregation may reduce social contact between in-group members and outsiders. This study makes several contributions. First, we contribute to the literature on the social consequences of the residential concentration of migrants. Second, we extend the research on the association between residential segregation and social assimilation by examining how social distance is associated with the spatial concentration of in-group members in the context of internal migration. Third, we adopt an innovative measure of residential segregation. Therefore, our study contributes to understanding the social adaptation of migrants in cities from a perspective of spatial concentration.

Key words: migrants, residential neighborhood, spatial concentration, social distance, social integration