Navigating home and belonging: Mobility shifts of transnational migrants in Shenzhen during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study investigates how transnational migrants in Shenzhen, China, navigated their sense of “home” and belonging during the COVID-19 pandemic under the “dynamic Zero-COVID” strategy and its rigorous mobility restrictions. As a prominent immigrant city, Shenzhen provided a specific urban context for examining these experiences. Drawing on the theoretical framework of “mobile forms of belonging,” which suggests belonging is actively constructed through movement rather than being tied to fixed locations, the research explores the impact of altered mobility patterns on the reconstruction of belonging. A qualitative methodology was employed, utilizing semi-structured, in-depth face-to-face interviews and field observations with 40 long-term transnational residents in Shenzhen between May and November 2021. Findings reveal significant changes across international, domestic, and intra-city mobility. These shifts compelled participants to reconstruct and adjust their sense of belonging, leading to an intensified domestic focus and redefinition of “home”. The research also highlights reshaped community ties, local belonging, and an increased reliance on virtual connections to maintain transnational links. Based on observed mobility practices, the study identifies five distinct types of belonging experienced during this period: Regulated Rhythm, Family-Centered; Flexible Rhythm, Multi-Centered; Restricted Mobility, Work-Centered; Selective Mobility, Globally-Centered; and Low Mobility, Detached-Centered. This research empirically demonstrates the dynamic nature of belonging in a crisis context, illustrating how changes in the rhythm, resources, and conditions of mobility reshape migrants’ attachments and identities within a specific urban environment.