Selective moving behaviour in ethnic neighbourhoods: white flight, white avoidance, ethnic attraction or ethnic retention?

Abstract

Spatial concentrations of ethnic minorities might in principle be created and maintained by four different kinds of moving behaviour stemming from special housing preferences and options among either ethnic minorities or the native population. Inclination among natives to move away from neighbourhoods dominated by ethnic minorities has been called ‘White Flight’ in the literature, and disposition to avoid them ‘White Avoidance’. Preferences among ethnic minorities for living together with kinsmen or countrymen might create an inclination to move into multi-ethnic neighbourhoods, in this paper called ‘Ethnic Attraction’, or to remain there, called ‘Ethnic Retention’. This paper estimates the importance and size of these four kinds of behaviour based on an extensive database from Denmark using new statistical methods. It is concluded that white avoidance is the strongest reason for spatial concentrations of Non-Western ethnic minorities followed by ethnic attraction. White flight has a smaller impact and ethnic retention is without importance.

Keywords:

• Ethnic segregation
• ethnic selective migration