Andreu Domingo i Valls

Sikh diaspora and Spain: migration, hypermobility and space

ABSTRACT The recent emigration from Indian Punjab has included Spain into the global Sikh diaspora. This group is selected to study the production of ‘diaspora space’ and the transformation of the territory included in it. To achieve this objective, we have focused on the historical migratory waves, the itineraries followed by immigrants and their internal mobility, which provides the essential mechanism for the expansion of diaspora space. Alongside this, an attempt has been made to delimit the extent of virtual space of diaspora through transnational communication links from Barcelona (the municipality with largest Sikh population in Spain) to rest of the world. The preliminary finding from the mixed methodology used in the research illustrated that the Sikh diaspora is a dynamic physical and virtual space, which is expanding firstly with intense immigrant flows from Punjab to new destinations, and secondly with the spread of advanced communication source like internet calling and other messaging services. Their appropriation of territory is visible in the form of Gurudwaras (Sikh temples) as a node of symbolic and communitarian network of the Sikh diaspora situated at different parts of Spain.

Formation and evolution of ethnic enclaves in Catalonia before and during the economic crisis

The spatial settlement of the immigrant population has become a reality, and the economic crisis has further deepened our interest in the concentration levels of immigrants. In this sense, the establishment of ethnic enclaves, defined as residential areas with a significant representation of one or more foreign populations, has become a subject of particular attention in the academic and political sphere. However, there are currently few studies that have quantitatively examined the establishment and evolution of these enclaves. Through the implementation of a residential classification method that allows us to take the census tract as the unit of analysis, we aim to inventory the different types of residential spaces and explain the basic demographics of their residents, in particular for the inhabitants of the 48 census tracts that could be considered ethnic enclaves in 2011. In them, we evaluate the trend in degrees of residential exclusivity for all settlement areas before and during the economic crisis.

South Asian immigration to Spain: Socio-demographic profile and territorial distribution, 2000–2014*:

The South Asian group, which includes people from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, is one of the oldest and least known immigrant groups in Spain. Because of its relatively small size (131,230 in 2014) very limited research work has been done about this community. Existing studies mainly focus on their economic participation while their socio-demographic characteristics remain unexplored. In this paper, we examine the evolution and demographic profile of their flow and stock during 2000–2014, their socio-economic characteristics and territorial distribution. The recent huge flow of young males has made this group more masculine and younger. Their low education level and lack of professional skills result in occupational segregation in a few sectors, which is contributing to their residential concentration in the big metropolitan areas of Spain. The economic crisis in Spain has halted further growth, but the continuation of family reunification process is consolidating their settlement in Spain.

Perspectiva municipal del arraigo en la provincia de Barcelona, 2006-2009

Desde 2006, se aplica en Espana un nuevo procedimiento para controlar la irregularidad, en el que se pasa de las regularizaciones masivas y extraordinarias a un proceso individual y permanente. En ese nuevo modelo, llamado «de arraigo», los inmigrantes en situacion irregular pueden adquirir la autorizacion de residencia temporal a traves del arraigo laboral, social, familiar o por circunstancias excepcionales, tramitadas por las subdelegaciones del Gobierno para cada una de las provincias espanolas. Estos datos administrativos, que recogen tanto las caracteristicas sociodemograficas basicas del solicitante como su situacion residencial, no han sido nunca explotados, entre otras razones por la falta de armonizacion entre las diferentes provincias. Sin embargo, su analisis demografico permite, por un lado, la caracterizacion demografica del solicitante, puesto que traza los perfiles individuales y nacionales, y, por otro, un analisis territorial del arraigo, es decir, el analisis de la evolucion de la demanda de arraigo a nivel municipal. En este articulo, se analiza la evolucion del arraigo en los municipios de la provincia de Barcelona a partir de las series estadisticas de la Subdelegacion del Gobierno de Barcelona desde el inicio de la implantacion de este nuevo sistema, en el ano 2006, hasta diciembre de 2009.