Natives’ opinions on ethnic residential segregation and neighbourhood diversity in Helsinki,Oslo and Stockholm

Nordic countries rank high on measures indicating tolerant views on immigrants. Yet, ethnic residential segregation is stated as being a major social problem in these countries. Neighbourhood flight and avoidance behaviour among the native born could be a sign of less tolerant views on minorities, but could of course be restricted to native-born residents in areas of high-ethnic concentration. So far, no research in these countries has explicitly focused on the majority population’s view on segregation, and we know little about how native-born residents in different neighbourhood contexts view ethnic segregation or how own residential experience shapes decisions on staying or leaving; this paper aims to help fill this research lacuna. In a survey targeting 9000 native-born residents in three Nordic capital cities—stratified into neighbourhood movers and stayers and into neighbourhoods having different proportions of non-Nordic-born residents—we answer three questions: do native-born respondents prefer a neighbourhood ethnic mix? Do they see ethnic segregation as a problem? Do they prefer lower, current or higher shares of ethnic minorities in their own neighbourhoods?     

Ethnic Residential Clusters in Nima,Ghana

The global debate on ethnic residential segregation has focused more on the developed world, and little is known about similar patterns and processes in African cities. This is in spite of the fact that many African cities are now ranked among the world’s most rapidly growing and least regulated urban areas. Indeed, the dynamics of ethnic residential segregation have scarcely been studied in African cities. The little literature available has looked at ethnic segregation between the neighbourhoods of major cities. This paper goes beyond current literature by examining the pattern and processes of ethnic clustering within a multi-ethnic community. Our goal in this paper is to answer the question as to whether within a multi-ethnic urban neighbourhood the major ethnic groups are residentially clustered, isolated or dispersed. The focus is on Nima, a major slum community of Accra, Ghana. The findings of the study show that even though Nima is a multi-ethnic community, some level of ethnic clustering can be discerned. These patterns are linked to the history of settlement formation, religious affiliation and ethnic or place of origin of earlier house owners.     

Immigrants and home in the making: thresholds of domesticity,commonality and publicness

The search for home as a material and symbolic space is an increasingly salient social question across contemporary multiethnic cities. The boundaries between what is public, communal and domestic are increasingly contested and yet remain a crucial issue, especially for minority groups such as immigrant and ethnic communities. The domestication of everyday living spaces carried out by immigrant and ethnic groups entails a variety of ways of ‘cultivating home’. In a context characterized by transnational mobility, ethnic segregation and social marginality, domesticity—understood as the potential to enact a domestic dimension in meaningful places—is an important asset to resist present hardships, cultivate memory and lay out projects for the future. In this Editorial, we seek to untangle the multiple stakes entailed by the practices of ‘making home’ and ‘feeling at home’. We invite scholars to observe how, even in minute and mundane details, dwelling places and the built environment come to be imbued with social and cultural meanings, which are pivotal to survival and social recognition. The articulation of domesticity, commonality and publicness can be fruitfully mapped through the concept of ‘thresholds’, which brings together the case studies that follow. By doing so, this Special Issue as a whole lays out a new research agenda at the intersection of housing, urban and migration studies.     

(Re)Viewing Ethnic Residential Segregation in Southern European Cities: Housing and Urban Regimes as Mechanisms of Marginalisation

Housing and residential marginalisation in Southern European cities represents the most critical and controversial of urban conditions for the settlement and inclusion of immigrants. However, these issues are conspicuously under-researched in both the international and Southern European comparative literature. The complexity of ethnic housing hardship and segregation is often de-problematised and misleadingly attributed solely to market mechanisms or inevitable polarisation dynamics. This paper reviews the distinctive features of ethnic residential segregation within wider societal and urban contexts, drawing on an analysis of eight Mediterranean cities with a special focus on the role of housing systems and processes of ethnic and social differentiation. Problems and drivers are reconceptualised within an holistic, comparative framework. It is demonstrated that low levels of ethnic spatial segregation conceal a real problem of social residential marginalisation. This paradox predominantly originates from macro-scale mechanisms of differentiation rooted in the welfare redistributive arrangements and dualist housing systems. It is additionally reinforced by current urban renewal strategies.     

Residential segregation of ethnic groups in West German cities

Research focused on immigrants in German cities has shown that ethnic minorities have a clear tendency towards segregation and spatial concentration in specific urban areas. Unlike the immigrant enclaves in North American cities these neighbourhoods cannot be termed ‘ghettos’. Yet today one of the most controversial political issues in West German cities is the likelihood of ethnic ghetto formation. There is general agreement amongst planners and politicians that such a development should be prevented as it will hinder future integration. This article will: consider the conditions of labour immigrants and their families in West German cities; review the development of these conditions, especially in the last 15 years; and explain, as far as possible, the geographical concentration and segregation of immigrants, examining policies for integration.     

格尔木市居住格局及居住隔离研究

民族地区的居住隔离与大城市不同,因此,探究民族地区居住格局及居住隔离是构建民族地区和谐社会的前提。要采取相应策略,方便对症下药。     

Census-based information systems for ethnic groups: a study of Leeds and Bradford

"In this paper are explored the problems involved in using Census data as a guide to the evolving ethnic geography of British cities. The relationship between the concept of ethnicity and Census questions on place of birth is traced. The country-of-birth statistics for Small Areas from the 1971 and 1981 Censuses are employed in an attempt to ascertain the influence of technical specifications on the measurement of the residential segregation of ethnic groups in order to distinguish real differences from apparent ones. The attempt is not fully successful, but it does provide clear pointers on how to proceed further in research on the ethnic spatial mosaics that [British] cities now are."     

Residential outcomes of forced relocation: lifting a corner of the veil on neighbourhood selection

Fear of the detrimental effects of ethnic segregation has pervaded the debate on the population composition of cities and neighbourhoods. However, little is known about mechanisms underlying the spatial sorting of ethnic minorities. Hence, policies aimed at desegregation may result in exactly the opposite - that is, new ethnic concentrations and segregation. This paper studies the residential outcomes of 658 forced movers from urban restructuring areas in The Hague. Compared with "native" Dutch (those with both parents born in the Netherlands), ethnic minorities report neighbourhood improvement less often and are more likely to stay within or move into other ethnically concentrated neighbourhoods. These differences are not fully explained by differences in individual characteristics, resources, institutional factors, pre-relocation preferences or other relocation outcomes. Ethnic specificities in neighbourhood choices thus remain a pressing issue for further research.     

The Geography of an EthniCity: Residential Segregation of Birthplace and Language Groups in Sydney, 1996

Many contemporary cities have a diverse ethnic-cultural mix as a result of different international migration streams, with implications for the residential distribution of various ethnic groups within those cities. Boal recently suggested a series of scenarios against which the pattern in any one place could be evaluated. These are applied to Sydney in 1996, when over 34 per cent of the residents reported a birthplace outside Australia and 30 per cent reported using a language other than English at home. Lacking data on ethnic status, the birthplace and language data are used to explore Sydney's residential geography at two spatial scales, and to identify the degree of residential segregation of each birthplace and language group. Regression analysis, used to assess the relevance of human capital to observed levels of segregation, suggests that Boal's assimilation scenario accounts for most of the observed geographies, with some additional pluralism but little evidence of polarisation. These results suggest that the dynamics of Sydney's housing market facilitate movement into most areas of demand, subject only to labour market constraints; differential access to sections of the labour market, and hence to housing market sections, is a major factor in the residential segregation of birthplace and language groups in Sydney.     

Combating residential segregation of ethnic minorities in European cities

This introduction paper to the special issue on combating residential segregation provides an overview of desegregation policies in European countries. Housing diversification is the main desegregation measure in most countries, while housing allocation measures are also implemented in several European cities to disperse ethnic minorities. A comparison of the five countries covered in this special issue (UK, Finland, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands) reveals that each of them is characterised by a huge gap between an ambitious anti-segregation policy rhetoric and the limited effectiveness of desegregation policies. Housing policies have a limited effect on ethnic concentration, not only because they often contradict each other, but also because they fail to address the main causes of segregation.     

Islam,Heritage, and Preservation: An Untidy Tradition

Abstract

In this article I argue that the study of cultural heritage preservation practices in the context of Muslim societies has been constructed—and obstructed—through specific historical trajectories and challenges. These originate within the field of cultural heritage preservation, through its own history and principles which have complicated the interplay between heritage and religious values and uses. As a result, situated studies of preservation practices in and by Muslim communities are in their infancy. In this article I revisit the points of contact between the emergence of a Eurocentric preservation dogma and its encounter with different articulations and practices related to Islam that are now approached as part of heritage assemblages and debates. I consider specific biases inherent in these discourses and propose, as a result, to approach the study of Islam and heritage in its own terms—rather than as an alternative to Western preservation paradigms.     

Social and Ethnic Segregation in Europe: Levels,Causes, and Effects

Abstract: The measurement of segregation, the understanding of its drivers, and the effects of segregation are three interrelated issues that receive ample attention on both sides of the Atlantic. The comparative study of these subjects in Europe is not an easy task because the continent is highly fragmented and diversified. This regards the types of welfare state, but also the multitude of urban histories. Consequently, there is a lack of uniform information. Nevertheless, this paper makes an attempt to sketch the variety of ethnic and social segregation within Europe, using a large number of sources. It is shown that generally segregation levels in Europe are more moderate compared to what we can find in American cities, but these differences are not absolute. The paper also links the levels of segregation with a range of potential explanations and provides a window on European research focusing on effects of segregation.     

“It’s all in the mix”: constructing ethnic segregation as a social problem in Germany

The creation of a balanced ethnic mix at the neighbourhood level is a common objective of contemporary housing policies in many European countries. According to its proponents, these policies aim to stimulate social mobility and social integration, often within a wider attempt at urban regeneration. Germany is looking back at a long tradition of mixing strategies aimed at ethnic desegregation. Whereas other countries take a more subtle approach, targeting ethnic segregation indirectly by means of a social or housing mix, some German cities have tried to prevent ethnic concentrations by imposing moving-in bans or quotas on foreigners in certain quarters, restrictions that are still maintained under the recent anti-discrimination legislation. In applying a constructionist approach, the article critically discusses the reasoning behind the German policies. It tries to shed light on some shared features in the discourse on ethnic segregation across Europe and highlights the particularities of the German strategies. It further tackles the question of future prospects for desegregative housing policies against the background of demographic realities, the entrance of financial investors in the (German) housing market and the ongoing shrinkage of the social housing sector.     

Housing supply and residential segregation in Ireland

The article examines the role of housing supply in ethnic diversity and the residential segregation of Asian, African and eastern European immigrants from Irish nationals in Ireland. Housing supply is defined as the proportions of new housing, private rental accommodation and social housing among all housing units in an electoral district. Multivariate regressions reveal that, among all three housing supply variables, the proportion of private rentals had the largest effect on ethnic diversity and immigrant— Irish segregation. Areas with higher proportions of private rental units were more ethnically diverse, had greater presences of Africans, Asians and eastern Europeans (as opposed to high concentrations of Irish nationals) and exhibited greater integration between each of the three immigrant groups and Irish nationals. The article concludes with a discussion of immigrant assimilation and questions whether the patterns of residential integration observed would further facilitate other forms of social inclusion for immigrants in Irish society.     

Homophily horizons and ethnic mover flows among homeowners in Scotland

Abstract

This article analyses mover flows in Glasgow and the role of ethnic homophily, the tendency for movers to be drawn to areas with similar ethnicities to their own. We look at how homophily affects the spatial relocation patterns of homeowners in Glasgow from Scottish, Indian, Pakistani and Chinese descent, and focus on the extent to which homophily extends beyond the immediate locality to surrounding neighbourhoods. Our interest is in estimating the “homophily horizon” – how far the gaze of homophily reaches in mover location decisions. Using a simple Schelling-type theoretical model, we argue that homophily horizons are potentially important in shaping the long-term social structure of cities as they may profoundly affect how potent the overall sorting tendencies of the housing market are in driving segregation. In principle, the more distant the homophily horizon, the more quickly the housing market will tend towards segregation, other things being equal. We adopt Folch and Rey’s use of the local centralization index to capture the influence of surrounding neighbourhoods in shaping mover flows and neighbourhood dynamics. Our estimation combines ethnic mover flows derived from surname analysis of house buyers from the house transactions recorded in Registers of Scotland data. Our results show that the presence of the own ethnic group in the local surroundings is important for explaining mover flows, and that homophily is a local phenomenon.     

VICTIMS OR VICTORS? THE EFFECTS OF FORCED RELOCATIONS ON HOUSING SATISFACTION IN DUTCH CITIES

Urban restructuring is changing the face of many Western European cities. Old, relatively cheap dwellings are being demolished and replaced by new, more expensive ones. The spatial effects of this process have been extensively studied, but little is known about the residents who are forced to relocate so that their dwellings can be demolished or updated. We therefore studied how satisfied forced movers are with their current housing situation, and what factors contribute to this. Using data from four Dutch cities, we found that most displaced residents were quite satisfied with their new dwellings and neighborhoods. However, those with low incomes and those from ethnic minority groups were less satisfied with their homes and neighborhoods. We can explain their lower level of neighborhood satisfaction by the fact that they move to less desirable neighborhoods—for example, neighborhoods with higher concentrations of ethnic minorities.     

Paramaribo

Paramaribo, the largest and only significant urban area in Suriname, is a typical primate city. The majority of the countries’ population resides here and the majority of political, social and economic functions is clustered in the urban zone. In the course of the 20th century, the city changed dramatically. Its population grew enormously and the city expanded through conversion of agricultural lands. In addition, economic and political developments produced alternate functional divisions within the city. These developments have taken place in other Caribbean cities as well. However, where Caribbean cities, e.g. Kingston or Port-of-Spain, are known for high levels of ethnic and socio-economic segregation and inequality, Paramaribo is a city of more or less ethnically and socio-economically mixed neighbourhoods. This profile focuses on patterns of settlement in Paramaribo after 1950 and explains these from developments in the local economy and land market. It concludes that the economic crisis together with the structure of the land- and housing market have slowed down processes of moving and resettlement, encouraged the development of socio-economically mixed neighbourhoods and sustained the absence of no-go areas in the city. It concludes by posing the question whether this may change in the future and more clustering can be expected.     

Do Strict Land Use Regulations Make Metropolitan Areas More Segregated by Income?

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Income segregation has risen in each of the last four decades in U.S. metropolitan areas, which can have lifelong impacts on the health, economic productivity, and behaviors of residents. Although it is widely assumed that local land use regulations—such as minimum lot sizes and growth controls—exclude low-income households from wealthier neighborhoods, the empirical research is surprisingly limited. We examine the relationship between land use regulation and segregation by income using new measures for the 95 biggest cities in the United States. We find that density restrictions are associated with the segregation of the wealthy and middle income, but not the poor. We also find that more local pressure to regulate land use is linked to higher rates of income segregation, but that more state control is connected to lower-income segregation.

Takeaway for practice: Density restrictions do drive urban income segregation of the rich, not the poor, but should be addressed because rich enclaves create significant metropolitan problems. Planners at the local level need assistance from regional and state efforts to ameliorate income segregation. Inclusionary housing requirements have a greater potential to reduce income segregation than bringing higher-income households into lower-income parts of the city. Finally, comprehensive and consistent data on the impacts of local land use regulations should be collected to inform future research and planning practice.     

Kraków

It is a commonplace that cities are composed of a variety of contrasting sub-units. Central business districts, conservation zones and ethnic ghettos are the stuff of which urban analysis is often made. Furthermore, it is accepted that much of the day-to-day working of cities arises out of the fact that these sub-units are functionally complementary, and much of the movement within the urban fabric is strongly directed into the paths between them. It follows that the quality of decisions about city design and management depends in large part upon the recognition not only of the tendency and need for different activities and groups to be spatially segregated within the city, but also of the social tensions and transport problems which very high degrees of segregation can engender, and of the consequent importance of balancing the conflicting aims of enhancing environmental quality and of maintaining accessibility within the urban fabric.     

Spatial Assimilation in Denmark? Why do Immigrants Move to and from Multi-ethnic Neighbourhoods?

In most European countries ethnic minorities have had a tendency to settle in certain parts of cities—and often in social housing—together with other immigrants in so-called multi-ethnic neighbourhoods. An explanation for this could be low income combined with lack of knowledge of the housing market and discrimination, which limits the housing possibilities for ethnic minorities. Another explanation could be that for different reasons immigrants choose to settle in so-called ethnic enclaves where they can find an ethnic social network, which can support them in their new country. In traditional research literature about immigration it has been shown that for many immigrants living in enclaves has been a temporary situation. The ‘spatial assimilation theory’ says that this situation ends when the family has become more integrated in the new society and then moves to another part of the city. This paper provides evidence to support both explanations of why ethnic minorities move to and from multi-ethnic neighbourhoods.