Spatial Characteristics and Determinants of In-situ and Nearby Mobility of Floating Population: A New Exploration Based on the Seventh Census Data in Fujian Province

The reemergence of in situ and nearby population mobility is a new phenomenon in the current process of population mobility in China and is important in promoting the evolution of urbanization patterns and policy optimization. Based on data from the 7th census in Fujian Province in 2020, we first clarified the concepts of "in-situ mobility" and "nearby mobility." We then determined the spatial agglomeration characteristics of the in-situ and nearby population mobility and the network structure characteristics of nearby population mobility in Fujian Province in 2020. The quantile model and QAP analysis method were adopted to identify the main factors influencing this spatial agglomeration characteristic and the flow network structure characteristics from five perspectives: economic income, employment opportunities, public services, family characteristics, and geographical location. The results show that: (1) The intra-provincial floating population in each county of Fujian Province mainly flowed in place and the nearby flows were supplemented; the spatial distribution of the in situ floating population had a certain degree of balance, while the spatial selectivity of the nearby floating population was relatively strong, with clear differences between the mountains and seas and the characteristics of a circular structure centered on municipal districts. (2) There were differences in the scale and grade of the nearby mobility networks of the two core cities (Fuzhou and Quanzhou). They were in a development stage of "clustering and scattering," with a distinct "dual-core" mobility network structure. The nearby mobility networks of other small and medium-sized cities were still at the stage of clustering in urban districts. (3) The relatively low level of economic development and the elderly dependency ratio; the relatively high proportion of the secondary industry and the youth dependency ratio, as well as the location outside the metropolitan area to promote local population mobility; a relatively high proportion of the secondary and tertiary industries, wages, and the levels of education and medical care; a relatively low dependency ratio for teenagers and the elderly and being located within the metropolitan area to promote nearby population mobility; the greater the gap in economic income and the development level of public services between the two places, the larger the scale of nearby population mobility, whereas the smaller the gap in the proportion of tertiary industry between the two places, the larger the scale of nearby population mobility. This study addresses the issues of previous studies that only depicted the population mobility network from the scale of provinces or prefecture-level cities and provides a new perspective for the comprehensive understanding of the local and nearby population mobility behavior and its local and nearby urbanization model. This study also provides a new perspective for a comprehensive understanding of the in situ and nearby population mobility behavior and its in situ and nearby urbanization pattern. Finally, we have put forward specific suggestions for different floating populations in counties to provide a differentiated reference for the development of county urbanization in Fujian Province and eastern and central China.