4 ms·

I always wonder how to interpret fertility rates for cities where people arrive and leave a lot. San Francisco famously has more dogs than children for example.

by klipt 5y ago

I always wonder how to interpret fertility rates for cities where people arrive and leave a lot. San Francisco famously has more dogs than children for example. But I also know a lot of people who moved out of San Francisco to somewhere cheaper when they were expecting a baby. I assume this happens less in Singapore because it's a city state, you can't just leave the city without actually emigrating.

bobthepanda 5y ago
At least in China, the land area for cities is quite substantial. Land area of Shanghai is 2448 square miles, so it covers more of the case where people move to outlying neighborhoods for more space, as opposed to San Francisco's 47 square miles.
- silverpepsi 5y ago
  Basically all Chinese cities are equivalent to US counties. It's not commonly known, but yeah, anything about a Chinese city should be compared to stats about a US Metro Area to make any sense.
  - bobthepanda 5y ago
    The recent megalopolis stuff will also make things more complicated, though I'm unfamiliar with the fares for the regional HSR so I'm not sure that daily commuting from Nanjing to Shanghai actually makes a lick of sense. Even in the US, comparing by counties is dangerous, because counties are not standardized between states. Sometimes cities are contiguous with counties (San Francisco), sometimes they are smaller (Chicago), sometimes they are bigger (New York's 5 boroughs are each a county.)
seanmcdirmid 5y ago
Shanghai would only count those who have hukou (official residence) in the city, everyone else is basically a foreigner. For example if someone from Hunan had a kid in Shanghai, they would have Hunan hukou, not Shanghai hukou, and wouldn’t be counted in their numbers. Migrant workers generally don’t bring their kids/families to these cities however, as they have no right to local public schooling and medical resources, it can be a really difficult life unless you are rich. Likewise, very few people with Shanghai hukou will go somewhere else (it does happen though people), mobility in China is really complicated by the hukou system.

by klipt 5y ago

bobthepanda 5y ago

At least in China, the land area for cities is quite substantial. Land area of Shanghai is 2448 square miles, so it covers more of the case where people move to outlying neighborhoods for more space, as opposed to San Francisco's 47 square miles.

silverpepsi 5y ago
Basically all Chinese cities are equivalent to US counties. It's not commonly known, but yeah, anything about a Chinese city should be compared to stats about a US Metro Area to make any sense.
- bobthepanda 5y ago
  The recent megalopolis stuff will also make things more complicated, though I'm unfamiliar with the fares for the regional HSR so I'm not sure that daily commuting from Nanjing to Shanghai actually makes a lick of sense. Even in the US, comparing by counties is dangerous, because counties are not standardized between states. Sometimes cities are contiguous with counties (San Francisco), sometimes they are smaller (Chicago), sometimes they are bigger (New York's 5 boroughs are each a county.)

seanmcdirmid 5y ago

Shanghai would only count those who have hukou (official residence) in the city, everyone else is basically a foreigner. For example if someone from Hunan had a kid in Shanghai, they would have Hunan hukou, not Shanghai hukou, and wouldn’t be counted in their numbers. Migrant workers generally don’t bring their kids/families to these cities however, as they have no right to local public schooling and medical resources, it can be a really difficult life unless you are rich. Likewise, very few people with Shanghai hukou will go somewhere else (it does happen though people), mobility in China is really complicated by the hukou system.