Doing a PhD is never easy. It is filled with moments of happiness, excitement, and of course some... more Doing a PhD is never easy. It is filled with moments of happiness, excitement, and of course sometimes frustrations and struggles. At this stage, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to those persons that I have encountered in this adventurous journey. Without all of them, I had not been able to start and complete such a challenging PhD project. First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my promoter Prof. Dr. Pieter Hooimeijer, who has offered insightful guidance that extended beyond research to wisdom for life. His intelligence consistently steered me in the right direction, offering many inspiration and enlightenment. He patiently entertained my foolish questions and provided brilliant answers, such as when I inquired about choosing the right theory, the essence of geography, or the purpose of academia. His unwavering support boosted my confidence and facilitated my growth. Secondly, I am very happy to say thanks to my co-promoter Dr. Gideon Bolt, the very supportive and helpful back-up supervisor with a good sense of humour, who has given deep supports and assistances on literature and speeded up my growth and secured me on the right track during the PhD. His fast-working speed, inspiring ideas and sense of responsibility and conscientiousness also encourages me to continue my enthusiasms about research. Additionally, I extend sincere gratitude to my other co-promotor Dr. Bas Spierings. I appreciate him for his sharing of literature, and supervising on the methodology on qualitative research, with his very detailed, critical, inspiring and very helpful comments and suggestions. I will also give my sincere thanks to my external passedby supervisor Prof. Dr. Ronald Van Kempen, a very nice and humorous, but also strict and careful professor who supervised my academic growth and progress with emails asking me 'how is the research going recently' and cared about my personal life in the Netherlands by sending emails asking 'how is your life recently'? His great passion, thoughtful behaviours and marvellous words on research had always encouraged me to continue my academic journey when I met up with numerous difficulties in the process. I feel fortunate to have crossed paths with him though we shared only one-year happy research time with each other. Furthermore, I express my gratitude to my master supervisor, Prof. Dr. Zhigang Li, who was the enlightened mentor in academia when I knew nothing, and generously shared a great deal of literature and data on this topic, laying the foundation for my research. I am also thankful to Heidi Haugen, who supervised me from the beginning and trained me how to do fieldwork. I enjoyed the time when we were doing fieldwork together in Guangzhou (with her lovely little son). Thanks would also be given to other professionals who have generously sent me literature, such as Dr. Ilse van Liempt,
Doing a PhD is never easy. It is filled with moments of happiness, excitement, and of course some... more Doing a PhD is never easy. It is filled with moments of happiness, excitement, and of course sometimes frustrations and struggles. At this stage, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to those persons that I have encountered in this adventurous journey. Without all of them, I had not been able to start and complete such a challenging PhD project. First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my promoter Prof. Dr. Pieter Hooimeijer, who has offered insightful guidance that extended beyond research to wisdom for life. His intelligence consistently steered me in the right direction, offering many inspiration and enlightenment. He patiently entertained my foolish questions and provided brilliant answers, such as when I inquired about choosing the right theory, the essence of geography, or the purpose of academia. His unwavering support boosted my confidence and facilitated my growth. Secondly, I am very happy to say thanks to my co-promoter Dr. Gideon Bolt, the very supportive and helpful back-up supervisor with a good sense of humour, who has given deep supports and assistances on literature and speeded up my growth and secured me on the right track during the PhD. His fast-working speed, inspiring ideas and sense of responsibility and conscientiousness also encourages me to continue my enthusiasms about research. Additionally, I extend sincere gratitude to my other co-promotor Dr. Bas Spierings. I appreciate him for his sharing of literature, and supervising on the methodology on qualitative research, with his very detailed, critical, inspiring and very helpful comments and suggestions. I will also give my sincere thanks to my external passedby supervisor Prof. Dr. Ronald Van Kempen, a very nice and humorous, but also strict and careful professor who supervised my academic growth and progress with emails asking me 'how is the research going recently' and cared about my personal life in the Netherlands by sending emails asking 'how is your life recently'? His great passion, thoughtful behaviours and marvellous words on research had always encouraged me to continue my academic journey when I met up with numerous difficulties in the process. I feel fortunate to have crossed paths with him though we shared only one-year happy research time with each other. Furthermore, I express my gratitude to my master supervisor, Prof. Dr. Zhigang Li, who was the enlightened mentor in academia when I knew nothing, and generously shared a great deal of literature and data on this topic, laying the foundation for my research. I am also thankful to Heidi Haugen, who supervised me from the beginning and trained me how to do fieldwork. I enjoyed the time when we were doing fieldwork together in Guangzhou (with her lovely little son). Thanks would also be given to other professionals who have generously sent me literature, such as Dr. Ilse van Liempt,
H et voorlaatste boek van Auke van der Woud, Het landschap, de mensen, ging over de veranderingen... more H et voorlaatste boek van Auke van der Woud, Het landschap, de mensen, ging over de veranderingen op het platteland tussen 1850 en 1940 (besproken in Geografie 2021-3). In zijn nieuwste boek staan de steden en hun dynamiek tussen 1850 en 1900 centraal. Tot 1850 gaf stagnatie, zo niet neergang, de toon aan. Maar vanaf de jaren 1850 kwamen de steden in beweging, mede dankzij Thorbeckes Grondwet van 1848, de Provinciewet van 1850 en vooral de Gemeentewet van 1851. Die laatste wet gaf gemeenten de vrijheid én verantwoordelijkheid tot handelen. Ze waren niet langer zoals in de tijd van koning Willem I onderworpen aan de centrale staat, louter uitvoerings organen van de regering. Van der Woud citeert artikel 141: de gemeenteraad 'beveelt het aanleggen of verbeteren van gemeente-wegen, waterleidingen, straten, pleinen, grachten, gebouwen en inrigtingen'. 'Met dit artikel', schrijft hij, 'begon niet alleen het opknappen van steden en dorpen -met dit wetsartikel begon de democratisch gelegitimeerde Nederlandse stedenbouw en ruimtelijke ordening'. De stedelijke ruimte verbeterde ingrijpend, al bleef Nederland tot de Woningwet van 1902 wel een 'koninkrijk vol sloppen', om een andere boektitel van Van der Woud aan te halen.
La movilidad se ha convertido en un término popular en el siglo xxi, al mismo tiempo que el aná... more La movilidad se ha convertido en un término popular en el siglo xxi, al mismo tiempo que el análisis de la formación y las características dinámicas de las comunidades étnicas ha ido cobrando una mayor importancia en las investigaciones recientes. En el presente estudio, se lleva a cabo una comparación entre el colectivo de africanos que residen en las ciudades de Guangzhou y Foshan. El trabajo se realiza desde la perspectiva de la movilidad y de sus comportamientos más destacados. En los contextos económico, social y político chinos, los suburbios étnicos han ido adquiriendo un mayor protagonismo, tanto por las pautas de movilidad que en ellos se desarrollan y en las que cobran una relevancia especial el espacio residencial, el tiempo de viaje y el medio de transporte, como por las características de la población inmigrante que en ellos reside, su identidad, las redes sociales que desarrollan, la fijación de sus establecimientos comerciales, etc. Estamos ante lugares cuya naturaleza es dinámica, compleja y está directamente relacionada con la situación de ilegalidad de los inmigrantes. A lo largo de este artículo, el trabajo de campo desarrollado y la aplicación de metodologías cuantitativas y cualitativas permitirán observar cómo, frente a los cambios que se producen en los contextos económico y político, las nuevas prácticas de movilidad de carácter transnacional y transregional de los migrantes pueden provocar la transformación de las comunidades étnicas tradicionales y el surgimiento de nuevos suburbios étnicos.
This paper investigates how interrelated processes of borderingi.e. delimitation, interface and a... more This paper investigates how interrelated processes of borderingi.e. delimitation, interface and affirmationwork out in domains of Nigerian migrants' daily life in Guangzhou. The results reveal that migrants make use of marketplaces as interface platforms for economic exchange and cooperation with Chinese entrepreneurs, yet within a highly delimited playing field and with affirmation of cultural differences. They find residence in the city, with opportunities delimited by state and city laws. In neighborhoods, they find their stigmatization affirmed and lack inter-ethnic interface. Migrants also create underground churches, yet delimited into remaining invisible in the urban landscape. In churches, migrants affirm their identity and community but have limited inter-ethnic interface. The paper pinpoints fierce segregative and exclusionary outcomes for Nigerian migrants but they also persevere and gain agency in becoming a successful entrepreneur through instrumental inter-ethnic contact. Moreover, through non-instrumental intra-ethnic contact, they negotiate a sense of belonging in the city.
This article explores how African entrepreneurs in Guangzhou manage to survive in an environment ... more This article explores how African entrepreneurs in Guangzhou manage to survive in an environment that is characterized by harsh competition and major institutional restrictions. Combining literature on social networks theory with the mixed embeddedness approach, this paper presents an analysis of African entrepreneurial trajectories as a transnational and locally embedded process through exploring networking and trust-building strategies that African entrepreneurs employ to (re)position themselves in the Sino-African value chain. Based on ethnographic research on African entrepreneurs in Guangzhou, it shows that many African entrepreneurs are changing positions in the value chain by moving closer to Chinese production. Moving closer to the production side necessitates entrepreneurs to develop stronger local embeddedness whereas at the same time they need to maintain their transnational ties. Entrepreneurs in earlier phases rely on a ties with other Africans in Guangzhou, while in later phases they are embedded in a more diversified network.
In the literature on the incorporation of immigrants, ethnic enclaves are described as residentia... more In the literature on the incorporation of immigrants, ethnic enclaves are described as residential spatial concentrations fulfilling several economic and social functions for its residents. This paper questions whether this model is applicable for understanding the African concentration in China. Based on fieldwork in 2012 and 2016, this paper tries to give an overview of the changing dispersal patterns of Africans in Guangzhou and to explain how the new African clusters are connected to the areas where African businesses are concentrated. The initial African clusters may have lost their dominant role in the housing of African migrants, yet they are the focal point of the African communities in Guangzhou, as both commercial and leisure activities remain concentrated here. We argue that while there is no enclave (anymore) in the sense of a contingent area where Africans constitute a big part of the population, the African clusters still fulfils some functions that are associated with an ethnic enclave. However, the obstacles that the Chinese authorities put in the way of obtaining a long-term residence permit make it highly unlikely that African clusters in Guangzhou will develop into the type of ethnic enclaves that are described in the Anglo-Saxon literature.
Doing a PhD is never easy. It is filled with moments of happiness, excitement, and of course some... more Doing a PhD is never easy. It is filled with moments of happiness, excitement, and of course sometimes frustrations and struggles. At this stage, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to those persons that I have encountered in this adventurous journey. Without all of them, I had not been able to start and complete such a challenging PhD project. First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my promoter Prof. Dr. Pieter Hooimeijer, who has offered insightful guidance that extended beyond research to wisdom for life. His intelligence consistently steered me in the right direction, offering many inspiration and enlightenment. He patiently entertained my foolish questions and provided brilliant answers, such as when I inquired about choosing the right theory, the essence of geography, or the purpose of academia. His unwavering support boosted my confidence and facilitated my growth. Secondly, I am very happy to say thanks to my co-promoter Dr. Gideon Bolt, the very supportive and helpful back-up supervisor with a good sense of humour, who has given deep supports and assistances on literature and speeded up my growth and secured me on the right track during the PhD. His fast-working speed, inspiring ideas and sense of responsibility and conscientiousness also encourages me to continue my enthusiasms about research. Additionally, I extend sincere gratitude to my other co-promotor Dr. Bas Spierings. I appreciate him for his sharing of literature, and supervising on the methodology on qualitative research, with his very detailed, critical, inspiring and very helpful comments and suggestions. I will also give my sincere thanks to my external passedby supervisor Prof. Dr. Ronald Van Kempen, a very nice and humorous, but also strict and careful professor who supervised my academic growth and progress with emails asking me 'how is the research going recently' and cared about my personal life in the Netherlands by sending emails asking 'how is your life recently'? His great passion, thoughtful behaviours and marvellous words on research had always encouraged me to continue my academic journey when I met up with numerous difficulties in the process. I feel fortunate to have crossed paths with him though we shared only one-year happy research time with each other. Furthermore, I express my gratitude to my master supervisor, Prof. Dr. Zhigang Li, who was the enlightened mentor in academia when I knew nothing, and generously shared a great deal of literature and data on this topic, laying the foundation for my research. I am also thankful to Heidi Haugen, who supervised me from the beginning and trained me how to do fieldwork. I enjoyed the time when we were doing fieldwork together in Guangzhou (with her lovely little son). Thanks would also be given to other professionals who have generously sent me literature, such as Dr. Ilse van Liempt,
Doing a PhD is never easy. It is filled with moments of happiness, excitement, and of course some... more Doing a PhD is never easy. It is filled with moments of happiness, excitement, and of course sometimes frustrations and struggles. At this stage, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to those persons that I have encountered in this adventurous journey. Without all of them, I had not been able to start and complete such a challenging PhD project. First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my promoter Prof. Dr. Pieter Hooimeijer, who has offered insightful guidance that extended beyond research to wisdom for life. His intelligence consistently steered me in the right direction, offering many inspiration and enlightenment. He patiently entertained my foolish questions and provided brilliant answers, such as when I inquired about choosing the right theory, the essence of geography, or the purpose of academia. His unwavering support boosted my confidence and facilitated my growth. Secondly, I am very happy to say thanks to my co-promoter Dr. Gideon Bolt, the very supportive and helpful back-up supervisor with a good sense of humour, who has given deep supports and assistances on literature and speeded up my growth and secured me on the right track during the PhD. His fast-working speed, inspiring ideas and sense of responsibility and conscientiousness also encourages me to continue my enthusiasms about research. Additionally, I extend sincere gratitude to my other co-promotor Dr. Bas Spierings. I appreciate him for his sharing of literature, and supervising on the methodology on qualitative research, with his very detailed, critical, inspiring and very helpful comments and suggestions. I will also give my sincere thanks to my external passedby supervisor Prof. Dr. Ronald Van Kempen, a very nice and humorous, but also strict and careful professor who supervised my academic growth and progress with emails asking me 'how is the research going recently' and cared about my personal life in the Netherlands by sending emails asking 'how is your life recently'? His great passion, thoughtful behaviours and marvellous words on research had always encouraged me to continue my academic journey when I met up with numerous difficulties in the process. I feel fortunate to have crossed paths with him though we shared only one-year happy research time with each other. Furthermore, I express my gratitude to my master supervisor, Prof. Dr. Zhigang Li, who was the enlightened mentor in academia when I knew nothing, and generously shared a great deal of literature and data on this topic, laying the foundation for my research. I am also thankful to Heidi Haugen, who supervised me from the beginning and trained me how to do fieldwork. I enjoyed the time when we were doing fieldwork together in Guangzhou (with her lovely little son). Thanks would also be given to other professionals who have generously sent me literature, such as Dr. Ilse van Liempt,
H et voorlaatste boek van Auke van der Woud, Het landschap, de mensen, ging over de veranderingen... more H et voorlaatste boek van Auke van der Woud, Het landschap, de mensen, ging over de veranderingen op het platteland tussen 1850 en 1940 (besproken in Geografie 2021-3). In zijn nieuwste boek staan de steden en hun dynamiek tussen 1850 en 1900 centraal. Tot 1850 gaf stagnatie, zo niet neergang, de toon aan. Maar vanaf de jaren 1850 kwamen de steden in beweging, mede dankzij Thorbeckes Grondwet van 1848, de Provinciewet van 1850 en vooral de Gemeentewet van 1851. Die laatste wet gaf gemeenten de vrijheid én verantwoordelijkheid tot handelen. Ze waren niet langer zoals in de tijd van koning Willem I onderworpen aan de centrale staat, louter uitvoerings organen van de regering. Van der Woud citeert artikel 141: de gemeenteraad 'beveelt het aanleggen of verbeteren van gemeente-wegen, waterleidingen, straten, pleinen, grachten, gebouwen en inrigtingen'. 'Met dit artikel', schrijft hij, 'begon niet alleen het opknappen van steden en dorpen -met dit wetsartikel begon de democratisch gelegitimeerde Nederlandse stedenbouw en ruimtelijke ordening'. De stedelijke ruimte verbeterde ingrijpend, al bleef Nederland tot de Woningwet van 1902 wel een 'koninkrijk vol sloppen', om een andere boektitel van Van der Woud aan te halen.
La movilidad se ha convertido en un término popular en el siglo xxi, al mismo tiempo que el aná... more La movilidad se ha convertido en un término popular en el siglo xxi, al mismo tiempo que el análisis de la formación y las características dinámicas de las comunidades étnicas ha ido cobrando una mayor importancia en las investigaciones recientes. En el presente estudio, se lleva a cabo una comparación entre el colectivo de africanos que residen en las ciudades de Guangzhou y Foshan. El trabajo se realiza desde la perspectiva de la movilidad y de sus comportamientos más destacados. En los contextos económico, social y político chinos, los suburbios étnicos han ido adquiriendo un mayor protagonismo, tanto por las pautas de movilidad que en ellos se desarrollan y en las que cobran una relevancia especial el espacio residencial, el tiempo de viaje y el medio de transporte, como por las características de la población inmigrante que en ellos reside, su identidad, las redes sociales que desarrollan, la fijación de sus establecimientos comerciales, etc. Estamos ante lugares cuya naturaleza es dinámica, compleja y está directamente relacionada con la situación de ilegalidad de los inmigrantes. A lo largo de este artículo, el trabajo de campo desarrollado y la aplicación de metodologías cuantitativas y cualitativas permitirán observar cómo, frente a los cambios que se producen en los contextos económico y político, las nuevas prácticas de movilidad de carácter transnacional y transregional de los migrantes pueden provocar la transformación de las comunidades étnicas tradicionales y el surgimiento de nuevos suburbios étnicos.
This paper investigates how interrelated processes of borderingi.e. delimitation, interface and a... more This paper investigates how interrelated processes of borderingi.e. delimitation, interface and affirmationwork out in domains of Nigerian migrants' daily life in Guangzhou. The results reveal that migrants make use of marketplaces as interface platforms for economic exchange and cooperation with Chinese entrepreneurs, yet within a highly delimited playing field and with affirmation of cultural differences. They find residence in the city, with opportunities delimited by state and city laws. In neighborhoods, they find their stigmatization affirmed and lack inter-ethnic interface. Migrants also create underground churches, yet delimited into remaining invisible in the urban landscape. In churches, migrants affirm their identity and community but have limited inter-ethnic interface. The paper pinpoints fierce segregative and exclusionary outcomes for Nigerian migrants but they also persevere and gain agency in becoming a successful entrepreneur through instrumental inter-ethnic contact. Moreover, through non-instrumental intra-ethnic contact, they negotiate a sense of belonging in the city.
This article explores how African entrepreneurs in Guangzhou manage to survive in an environment ... more This article explores how African entrepreneurs in Guangzhou manage to survive in an environment that is characterized by harsh competition and major institutional restrictions. Combining literature on social networks theory with the mixed embeddedness approach, this paper presents an analysis of African entrepreneurial trajectories as a transnational and locally embedded process through exploring networking and trust-building strategies that African entrepreneurs employ to (re)position themselves in the Sino-African value chain. Based on ethnographic research on African entrepreneurs in Guangzhou, it shows that many African entrepreneurs are changing positions in the value chain by moving closer to Chinese production. Moving closer to the production side necessitates entrepreneurs to develop stronger local embeddedness whereas at the same time they need to maintain their transnational ties. Entrepreneurs in earlier phases rely on a ties with other Africans in Guangzhou, while in later phases they are embedded in a more diversified network.
In the literature on the incorporation of immigrants, ethnic enclaves are described as residentia... more In the literature on the incorporation of immigrants, ethnic enclaves are described as residential spatial concentrations fulfilling several economic and social functions for its residents. This paper questions whether this model is applicable for understanding the African concentration in China. Based on fieldwork in 2012 and 2016, this paper tries to give an overview of the changing dispersal patterns of Africans in Guangzhou and to explain how the new African clusters are connected to the areas where African businesses are concentrated. The initial African clusters may have lost their dominant role in the housing of African migrants, yet they are the focal point of the African communities in Guangzhou, as both commercial and leisure activities remain concentrated here. We argue that while there is no enclave (anymore) in the sense of a contingent area where Africans constitute a big part of the population, the African clusters still fulfils some functions that are associated with an ethnic enclave. However, the obstacles that the Chinese authorities put in the way of obtaining a long-term residence permit make it highly unlikely that African clusters in Guangzhou will develop into the type of ethnic enclaves that are described in the Anglo-Saxon literature.
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