The Interaction of Local Context and Cultural Background: Somalis' Perceived Possibilities in Nordic Capitals' Housing Markets

Abstract

Immigrants' housing position is often explained by (lack of) resources or differences in cultural backgrounds. Recent studies have included the importance of local context. The aim of this paper is to examine Somalis' perceptions of their possibilities in four Nordic capitals' housing markets: Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm. The approach is an interview study based on immigrants' own explanations of what they strive for and how they assess the impact of local conditions and cultural background for their possibilities. We found that local context and cultural background intertwine and sometimes conflict with each other, but that the negotiation between cultural background and local context was individual. The conclusion is that local context and cultural background are important factors for understanding differences between Somalis on different housing markets, thus emphasising that local context and cultural background have to be studied together to understand perceived housing possibilities.

Keywords::

• Housing market
• housing choice
• comparative housing
• local context
• cultural background
• Somalis

Acknowledgements

This study is part of the comparative research project ‘Nordic Welfare States and the Dynamics and Effects of Ethnic Residential Segregation’ (NODES). Financial support from NORFACE research programme on Migration in Europe – Social, Economic, Cultural and Policy Dynamics is acknowledged.

Notes

¹ In this paper, immigrants of Somali background are named Somalis, even though they might have become nationals, are descendants or identify themselves differently.

² The Nordic welfare states each have a housing sector providing housing through non-market-based allocation. As the sectors vary between the countries, so too does the term used to describe it. For simplification, the term public housing is used here.

³ Clapham (2002) criticises research on housing careers for presuming that preferences are universal and acted upon rationally and instead advocates the use of the phrase housing pathways. In line with Abramsson (2003), we argue that this is not inherent in the concept and that it is therefore not necessary to disregard the concept but rather to be aware of the points made by Clapham when utilizing the concept.

⁴ In many respects cooperatives are similar to owner-occupation, as they are distributed in the market at market prices. Cooperative flats are thus in general treated like owner-occupation in this paper.

⁵ In Denmark, rent regulations apply to dwellings which were in use as housing prior to 1991.

⁶ Part of the cooperative housing sector in Denmark is sold through personal networks, which can make it difficult for immigrants to get access (Skifter Andersen, 2010). However, the proportion of flats sold on the market has been growing. In Norway, the majority of co-operative dwellings are sold through estate agents. The highest bid together with membership seniority in national or regional housing associations are decisive. Households already living in the co-operative, where a dwelling is for sale, have the right to buy the dwelling at the price of the highest bid.

⁷ For the purpose of this paper, the term ‘Nordic capitals’ refers only to these four capitals.

⁸ An interpreter participated in the interview where lack of a common language was a problem. This was only necessary in a few cases. The interviews were conducted from spring 2012 to spring 2013.

⁹ During 2012, it became possible in Denmark to borrow money for buying a dwelling without paying interests through a financing institute offering halal financing. This was very new when the interviews were conducted and only two interviewees mentioned this option. None of them considered applying for a loan.