Susanne Søholt

The special importance of housing policy for ethnic minorities: evidence from a comparison of four Nordic countries

The purpose of this article is to explore whether housing policy has a special importance for immigrants, compared with the whole population, by comparing housing policies and immigrants’ housing outcomes in four Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. There are substantial differences between housing policies and housing outcomes in Nordic countries, despite their common background as social-democratic welfare states. The study shows that immigrants occupy a very different position on the housing market in each of these countries, and in particular that the degree of overcrowding among immigrants compared with the whole population varies a great deal. These differences can only to some extent be explained by inequalities between income groups on the housing markets in the countries: inequalities that affect immigrants. Other important explanations as to why immigrants have worse housing outcomes is the shortage of rental housing (e.g. in Norway), which increases the scope for discrimination and forces immigrants into overcrowded owner-occupied housing, and also rent and price control that create surplus demand and stronger competition between house hunters, which makes room for discrimination and reduces immigrants’ access to private renting in particular (e.g. in Denmark). Housing policy initiatives that improve immigrants’ housing options are strict needs tests for social/public housing (as is the case in Finland).

Pathways to Integration: Cross-cultural Adaptations to the Housing Market in Oslo

Immigrants move not only from one country to another, but also to different ways of living and different kinds of housing systems. Based on the studies among households with Pakistani, Tamil and Somali background in Oslo, this article explores how immigrants adapt to the housing market. The result is a typology of cross-cultural adaptation, developed from the experiences of the households. Behaviours are interpreted as expressions of how people link structures and resources from their cultural belonging with perceived constraints and opportunities in new contexts. The type of adaptive behaviour is shown to have consequences for how immigrants perform in the housing market in their new place of residence. Those who manage to apply previous knowledge to openings and options in the new housing system are in a favourable position.

Do Immigrants’ Preferences for Neighbourhood Qualities Contribute to Segregation? The Case of Oslo

Ethnic residential segregation is often explained with the claim that ‘immigrants don’t want to integrate—they prefer to stick together with co-ethnics’. By contrast, mixed neighbourhoods are seen as crucial for achieving social cohesion. In line with spatial assimilation theory there is a normative assumption that people interact with those living nearby. From interviews on neighbourhood qualities and locations valued by Oslo residents of Turkish, Somali and Polish backgrounds, we raise questions about the validity of two assumptions: that most immigrants want to live in the same neighbourhoods as co-ethnics; and that they want to live close to co-ethnics because they do not want to integrate. For reasons of socialisation, main preferences were for mixed neighbourhoods that included ethnic Norwegians. Whereas the preference for people of other immigrant backgrounds was linked to possibilities for socialisation, the preference for ethnic Norwegians in the neighbourhood was linked to possibilities for social integration. Co-ethnic networks could be maintained on the city level. Importantly, housing moves tended to be guided by other factors than population composition in the area.

A question of social sustainability: Urban interventions in critical neighbourhoods in Portugal and Norway

Urban interventions in deprived neighbourhoods rank high on the agenda in European countries. This article explores what aspects of targeted urban-area interventions involve and appreciate local people during the intervention process so that they become motivated to continue to take care of and develop their area afterwards. Local social sustainability stands out as a necessary prerequisite for continued upkeep of upgraded urban neighbourhoods. The analysis builds on a ‘most different approach’, a comparison of interventions in the far south (Lisbon) and north (Oslo) of Europe. The article concludes that in addition to relevant goals and progress, local support was conditioned on how goals, organization and participation were worked out and implemented.

Rural Municipalities and Change in Local School Structure: Comparing Room for Manoeuvre among Rural Municipalities in Latvia and Norway

ABSTRACT Rural depopulation, decreasing numbers of children, and general centralization, combined with high expectations for education, are factors that challenge rural communities and school structures in both Latvia and Norway. The aim of this article is to compare the role of the municipality and other levels of governance in making decisions on school structure in rural municipalities. The research method is a multiple-case-study approach, supported by survey data. Through the lenses of multi-level governance theory, we have investigated how national frameworks such as regulations and educational expectations are affecting local decision-making. Local politicians navigate between national frameworks and local expectations in making their decisions on school reorganization and closure. We find that local stakeholders’ perceptions of rural educational objectives and possibilities are embedded in their role(s) in society. Closing of schools causes conflicting pressures and dissension between different stakeholders. We find that local negotiations might generate better solutions and less-contested decisions.