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

Abstract

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.

Keywords:

• Immigrants
• Neighbourhood Preferences
• Mixed Neighbourhoods
• Social Integration
• Segregation

Acknowledgements

This study is part of the comparative research project ‘Nordic Welfare States and the Dynamics and Effects of Ethnic Residential segregation’ [Nodes, 4720426]. This work was supported by NORFACE research programme on Migration in Europe—Social, Economic, Cultural and Policy Dynamics.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

[1] The Dissimilarity index (D-index) is a demographic measure of the evenness or inequality in which two groups are distributed across the component geographic areas that make up a larger area. The measure computes the sum total in a larger area of the differences in the relative populations in subareas (Reardon and Firebaugh 2002). The index score can also be interpreted as the percentage of one of the two groups included in the calculation that would have to move to different geographic areas in order to produce a distribution matching that of the larger area.

[2] http://www.aftenposten.no/meninger/leder/A-Mobler-valgte-rett-6598504.html

[3] In Norway, cooperative housing has become similar to home ownership. Both tenures are distributed through the market, according to the highest bid. In Oslo, location is more important for price than is the type of ownership tenure.

[4] Due to Norwegian legislation on privacy protection, interviewees were found through informal channels. The researchers had no individual knowledge about the interviewees beforehand.