Ethnic segregation in Dutch residential areas does not by definition have a negative impact on integration and the social opportunities available to immigrants. These are the conclusions Sanne Boschman (OTB) draws in her doctoral research. When it comes to contact between people living in certain areas, it doesn’t matter whether you live in a ‘black’ or a ‘white’ neighbourhood.
Existing theories suggest that ‘neighbourhood effects’ have major consequences for the opportunities people have in life. If you’re from a poor or ‘black’ neighbourhood, you’re much more likely to have difficulty finding your way in society than if you grow up in Wassenaar or Kralingen-Oost. This inspired doctoral candidate Sanne Boschman to explore how people select their neighbourhood; why do ethnic minorities so often move to ‘black’ neighbourhoods? Do non-Western immigrants choose to live in (ethnic) concentration neighbourhoods of their own accord, or do other factors play a role? And the second question: does the neighbourhood you call home influence your social opportunities?
In her search for answers, Boschman analysed data from sources including Municipal Personal Records Databases and WoonOnderzoek Nederland (WoON, a national survey charting household composition and housing aspirations). This analysis revealed that non-Western immigrants prefer to live in ‘black’ neighbourhoods. Surinamese, Antilleans, Turks and Moroccans prefer to live in neighbourhoods where numerous people from their own ethnic group also live – they choose houses close to friends or family, or in the vicinity of ethnic facilities such as special shops or a mosque. Non-Western immigrants also more often live in neighbourhoods with a large number of cheaper houses. In addition, Turks and Moroccans prefer to live in a mixed neighbourhood with other ethnic minority groups than in a ‘white’ neighbourhood. ‘That seems to be related to discrimination or fear of discrimination,’ suggests Boschman. ‘They have fewer opportunities on the housing market, or don’t want to live in a neighbourhood where they are marginalised’.
It thus appears that the segregation is partially voluntary. However, a major question still surrounds the influence of the neighbourhood effects. Does the fact that people live in a mixed neighbourhood – whether voluntarily or not – result in them having less contact with autochthonous Dutch citizens, and therefore that they integrate less into society? Boschman’s research has revealed that it doesn’t. In terms of contact between ethnic minorities and autochthonous Dutch citizens, whether you live in a ‘black’ or ‘white’ neighbourhood is irrelevant.
Ethnic minority contacts aren’t at all confined to the neighbourhood in which they live; they fan out all over the place. Therefore, segregation does not necessarily have a negative impact on integration and the social opportunities of immigrants, as long as various ethnic groups continue to have the chance to meet each other at other places, such as at school, at work or at sports clubs. And it’s for the same reason that there’s little point in demolishing houses in ‘black’ neighbourhoods to replace them with new developments in order to encourage integration. ‘You can’t use bricks to mix people’.