Jorge Malheiros

De-Segregation, Peripheralisation and the Social Exclusion of Immigrants: Southern European Cities in the 1990s

The unfavourable evolution of social conditions and housing patterns of immigrants in contemporary Southern Europe challenges the association of social inclusion and integration with spatial dispersal. Recent housing and socio-urban changes, involving limited public-housing production and few opportunities for self-build housing, have triggered additional processes of socio-residential exclusion associated with peripheralisation, de-segregation in the context of urban renewal, and gentrification. Finally, the strength and specific composition of the major waves of immigrants in the 1990s and early 2000s have also contributed to narrowing migrants’ access to the housing market and promoting distinctive patterns of settlement. Focusing on the six metropolises of Lisbon, Madrid, Barcelona, Turin, Milan and Rome, we explore patterns and dynamics of socio-ethnic segregation in Southern Europe, paying particular attention to the processes of marginalisation through dispersal, and questioning the orthodox association between residential de-segregation and social inclusion. Despite data limitations and the fact that these examples may not be representative of all Southern European metropolises, this paper aims at a more accurate interpretation of the contemporary socio-urban dynamics associated with the presence of immigrants.

Labour market integration of immigrants in Portugal in times of austerity: resilience, in situ responses and re-emigration

ABSTRACT The austerity regime implemented in Portugal to face the financial and economic crisis caused readjustments in the country’s productive structure and labour market with an impact on immigrants’ lifeworlds. This article aims at analysing the consequences of the crisis in the lives of third-country nationals living in Portugal, reflecting particularly on the impact on their integration process, understood as economic incorporation, in a context of increasing work precariousness. Special attention will be given to the resilience of immigrants visible in their responses to the labour market constraints, namely through their choices of geographic (im)mobility and also the implementation of strategies to ‘normalise’ their lives. Starting with a brief reference to the meaning of integration in Portugal in a context of crisis, we draw on data from two research projects, arguing that despite the increased hardship, the resilience of foreign workers is considerable and they still think it is worth coming to Portugal. The strategies adopted may be either in situ or implying onward migration, resulting from the combination of context opportunities and individual agency. Factors like legal status, education and having relatives abroad play a moderate role in this process.

Regresso e circulação de emigrantes portugueses no início do século XXI

O principal objetivo deste artigo e avaliar a importância do regresso de emigrantes portugueses durante a decada de 2001-2011, tendo em conta o volume do regresso, os perfis sociodemograficos, as variacoes por paises de emigracao e a emergencia de novas formas de mobilidade. Um objetivo particular consiste em produzir uma tipologia das formas de regresso: algumas mais associadas a visao tradicional da emigracao na idade ativa e regresso na fase da reforma, outras indiciadoras de movimentos de tipo diferente, com regressos mais precoces durante a vida ativa. A observacao de dados recentes permite descortinar algumas das novas modalidades de emigracao, incluindo uma tendencia crescente para a circulacao.

Forced Sex, Chosen Sex: Risk, Trafficking, and Prostitution in Portugal

Feminine prostitution is an activity often associated both with international migration and criminal practices. In Portugal and in several other Western European countries, the proportion of foreign women among sex professionals clearly exceeds the proportion of foreigners in the resident populations. Actually, in some cities, the majority of female prostitutes are foreign citizens (Indoors, Indoor sex work. Autres Regards, Marseille, 2010), in several cases in an irregular situation. This leads to the second issue dealt with in this chapter—the direct and indirect links between prostitution, illegal activities, and crime. In most Western European countries, prostitution in itself is not a crime, but sexual exploitation and pimping are. In addition, trafficking for sexual exploitation is consensually classified as a crime that involves “coercive” or “deceived” migration, often associated with threat, fraud, and violence. Focusing our analysis on this triple link between international migration, prostitution, and criminality, we frame it within the notion of risk; the key idea behind the article assumes that prostitution, particularly when it involves foreigners, is always a “risky business” (Kindler M, A risky business? Ukrainian migrant women in Warsaw’s domestic work sector. Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam, 2012), whether it is assumed by choice or as a consequence of trafficking. The notion of risk stems not only from the unattended negative consequences of trafficking and other criminal activities but also from the higher exposure to verbal and physical violence (from pimps, clients, and other society members), family tension and exclusion, or health problems.