Pursuing the Homeownership Dream in Shanghai: The Significance of House and Home in Migrant Families’ Quest for Middle Class

This article investigates ideas of house and home in relation to status and class ambitions focusing on a widely overlooked but greatly relevant social group: aspiring middle-class domestic migrants with rural origins. The main argument is that processes of social mobility and the urbanization of the migrants parallel the processes of acquiring homeownership and of the house becoming home (through decoration, for example). The quest for middle-class status as well as middle-class reproduction of the family are achieved through house and networks, two elements that are closely connected. The analysis in this article proceeds in three subsections to examine the key themes of: entitlement to property, the symbolic consumption of house-related items and network reinforcement through the home. The first subsection compares renters and owners, in order to demonstrate why owning a home is key for migrant families in Shanghai who are pursuing middle-class reproduction. Subsequently, the second subsection looks at how middle-class identity and social distinction are achieved through consumption and home decoration choices. Ultimately, the third subsection shows how migrant families can achieve social status through family and networks by purchasing a home.