Yixiao Li, Sichuang Chen, Yiran Wang, Tao Liu
Although internal migration is increasing rapidly in many developing countries, such as China, little is known about its spatial patterns beyond the general tendency of distance decay. A detailed understanding of the spatial patterns of internal migration is beneficial for addressing social and spatial inequalities and for urban planning because they reflect migrants’ evolving ability and willingness to overcome distance. This article discusses the spatial heterogeneity of the distance decay pattern of migration from cities in China. We use intercity migration data from the 2005 and 2015 bi-censuses and apply an origin-constrained competing destination model to estimate this sensitivity. We find noticeable heterogeneity in distance sensitivity among migrants from different cities. According to our multiple linear regressions, this heterogeneity primarily results from natural, economic, and social factors related to their origin’s development level, with the characteristics of surrounding destinations and migrants being controlled: underdevelopment constrains migrants to a narrow range, while advanced and balanced development in the region diminishes the necessity for migrants to move far. Importantly, given that the disparity in distance sensitivity narrows over time, we conclude that city development can sufficiently mitigate inequities in migrants’ accessibility to different destinations, irrespective of administrative levels or geographic location.