R. van Kempen

Ethnic Segregation and Residential Mobility: Relocations of Minority Ethnic Groups in the Netherlands

The degree of spatial segregation and concentration of minority ethnic groups in European cities is well documented. However, little is known about the residential mobility between neighbourhoods that brings about changes in the patterns of ethnic segregation. In this paper we analyse the residential mobility of minority ethnic groups from an assimilation perspective, according to which moving out of ethnic into predominantly white neighbourhoods can be seen as an indicator of immigrants’ incorporation into mainstream society. Residential mobility into white neighbourhoods is therefore expected to be a function of socio-economic mobility and acculturation at the individual level. The prospect for the long term is that differences in residential mobility behaviour based on ethnic status should gradually disappear. However, in our comparison between the biggest minority ethnic groups in the Netherlands and the native majority, we find only partial confirmation for the assimilation perspective.

Housing Policy, (De)segregation and Social Mixing: An International Perspective

Much of the academic and policy literature on residential segregation has emphasised the negative effects of the enduring concentration of households from particular ethnic or socio-economic groups. Often drawing directly on the US experience of ‘ghettoisation’, many contributors have pointed to persistent black minority segregation in particular as a benchmark of failure with regard to social and economic integration, and equality of opportunity in housing and the workplace (for example, Fortuijn et al., 1998; Johnston et al., 2002; Peach, 1996; van der Laan Bouma-Doff, 2007; Walks & Bourne, 2006). As Fortuijn et al. (1998, p. 367) have contended ‘the black ghetto in American cities symbolises the accumulation of the miseries of modern Western societies’.

Residential satisfaction in housing estates in European cities: a multi-level research approach

This paper mainly focuses on the determinants of housing and estate satisfaction in post-Second World War housing estates. Multi-level linear regression models were applied to estimate the impacts of individual, dwelling and estate characteristics on resident satisfaction levels, using a unique dataset from 25 post-Second World War estates in nine European countries. It is concluded that satisfaction with the dwelling is higher for the elderly and residents with higher incomes, and in situations where the dwelling has been renovated and is sufficiently large. The presence of children and a longer duration of stay have negative impacts, and renters are generally more negative than owners. Estate satisfaction is highest among immigrant households or when the dwelling is renovated, and among lower educated inhabitants. Individual characteristics and opinions on the estate are more important than estate characteristics in explaining estate satisfaction. The overall conclusion is that attempts to improve post-Second World War areas may result in new areas, but does not necessarily improve the overall satisfaction.

Dispersal patterns of households who are forced to move: desegregation by demolotion :a case study of Dutch cities

Area-based urban restructuring policy can be considered an important measure in combating residential segregation. The demolition of the social-rented sector is a crucial element of area-based restructuring policy in the Netherlands. As a consequence, many residents, most of whom have a low income, are forced to move to another dwelling. By means of an analysis of the dispersal pattern of displaced households in the Dutch cities of The Hague, Utrecht and Leiden, this paper gives insight into the effect of urban restructuring on segregation. The main conclusion is that displaced households do not concentrate in a small number of neighbourhoods, but follow a dispersed pattern. However, displacees seem to have a tendency to move to neighbourhoods with a high percentage of non-Western minorities and a large proportion of social-rented dwellings. This tendency indicates that concentrations might become apparent in neighbourhoods that match these characteristics.

Deepening Crisis or Homes for the Future? Some Reflections and Implications for Policies in Large Housing Estates

Although research has been carried out looking at large post-WWII housing estates since the 1970s, the zenith of activity has been since the second half of the 1990s. At least four reasons can be given for this attention. First, many of these areas have increasingly become the most unattractive places in cities. Second, up until this point, research in these areas has been limited and often narrowly focussed and because much of the research activities has focused on the older parts in the cities. Third, post-WWII high-rise housing has increasingly been seen as a cause of problems in many post-war housing areas, seen most acutely in recent years in the French banlieues. Fourth, as the impact of the problems of these areas became more acute and apparent, relatively large sums of both national and European research money became available to study these areas. The rise of the post-WWII as a topic for more and better research has been linked to the need to develop improved policies for addressing the decline and improvement of these areas.