Immigrant Concentration, Identity Formation, and Social Cohesion in Hong Kong Neighborhoods

• In Event: Community and Urban Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 12: Community and Connection

Abstract

Hong Kong, as an immigrant city, is unique in that immigrants and natives share the
same ethnicity and largely similar cultural backgrounds. Paradoxically, this context
shared heritage has coexisted with pronounced negative attitudes toward immigrants
and the emergence of identity politics that erode social solidarity. This study is among
the first to investigate how neighborhood-level immigrant concentration shapes Hong
Kong identity and neighborhood cohesion. By integrating longitudinal data from
Waves 2 and 4 of the Hong Kong Panel Study of Social Dynamics (HKPSSD) with
Hong Kong population census/by-census data, we find that increase in the proportion
of immigrant presence within neighborhoods are significantly and positively
associated with strengthening of Hong Kong identity and identity boundary favoring
local identity over national identity among natives. This relationship is asymmetric:
rising immigrant concentration reinforces Hong Kong identity, whereas declines in
immigrant presence yields no significant change. Moreover, cross-sectional analyses
of Wave 4 data further reveal that neighborhoods with higher proportion of
immigrants report lower level of social cohesion and neighborhood satisfaction. Together, these findings highlight the complex and often paradoxical social
consequences of immigration in Hong Kong and offer broader insights into identity
formation and community dynamics in a society with salient group boundaries.

Authors

• Xiaogang Wu, New York University Shanghai

• Yi Zhang, Xiamen University

• Jia Miao, New York University Shanghai