IS INTEGRATION AND EMPOWERMENT OF THE EXCLUDED NEEDED?
Saba Golchehr
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beneficial concentration Inter-ethnic dynamics
Ethnical concentration
The spatial segregation of migrants has been studied for over eighty years (Bolt et al., 2006). The most renowned studies originate from researchers within the Chicago School (Park and Burgess, 1925). These researchers can be seen as socio-ecologists. In their descriptive studies the spatial patterns of migrant groups in Chicago and their dynamics of these patterns were researched. The terminology used for their research stems from biology. The process of the moving dynamics is threefold in their studies, they consist of invasion, succession and dominance. The similarity between the ecosystem in biology and the ‘homo sapiens’ can be explained as follows: inhabitants of a neighbourhood will leave when there is an influx of new groups of residents (invasion). As a result of this new dwellings become available for the members of the new groups of residents (succession). Eventually the last stage (dominance) may occur: the new group has replaced the other group for a great part, and is therefore dominant in the neighbourhood.
The concentration of the migrants in the post-war neighbourhoods causes a spatial segregation between different socio-economic groups in the society. According to van Kempen et al. (1998) we speak of spatial concentration of a group, if an area displays an overrepresentation of this group. So in the case of the post-war neighbourhoods with a high concentration of migrants, we can speak of spatial concentration, which by definition implies spatial segregation. In turn spatial segregation can have negative effects on the integration of the migrants into society (van Kempen and şule Özüekren, 1998).
In research on segregation in the four big cities in the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag and Utrecht) the philosophy of the Chicago School is proven to be true. A study on (ethnical) segregation in these cities (Bolt et al., 2006) shows the three stages. First the indigenous population moves away from the area when groups of migrant population move into the neighbourhood (invasion). Then succession follows, for migrants prefer living in an area where they find their own culture. The research shows that these groups mostly move to neighbourhoods where 50100 percent of the population exists out of migrants. With these moving dynamics eventually a state of dominance is achieved in the neighbourhood by the migrant groups. This process resulted in the neighbourhoods we now recognise as (problem) areas of concentration of the migrants. The urban renewal policy thrives to break this natural process by the physical mix of the housing stock. The question is however, when this invasion-successiondominance is in truth a natural process, which results from housing and moving preferences of individuals, will this policy be successful in the mixing of different groups on a neighbourhood level? Is it not more realistic to adjust the goal of the policy according to this process? In the proposal of this graduation project I want to explore the ethnic concentration as a beneficial phenomena for the integration of newcomers. First I will support this idea based on several literary studies.
Spatial planning plays a clear role in the issue of integration. The neighbourhood is seen as an important domain of integration (Gowricharn, 2001). Interaction in the neighbourhood can provide social integration. As we discussed earlier, in the Netherlands migrants are increasingly concentrated in certain neighbourhoods. With this the idea arose that the neighbourhood has become a brake in the integration process. If and how the spatial segregation of these groups is negative in this process will be discussed later. What I want to emphasize on here is that the programs which focus on improving the socio-economic position of migrants will not suffice to solve the problem of integration (Ravallion and Wodon, 1999). We also need to intervene in the spatial structure in order to overcome the obstacles that the people in these neighbourhoods are facing. But is the concentration of certain groups necessarily a negative occurrence? In this section I will discuss the literary perceptions on disadvantages and benefits of concentration. As we know now the Dutch government perceives the homogeneous social structure of neighbourhoods and the spatial concentration of low-income groups as a problem. The idea of the neighbourhood with concentrations of socio-economic weak groups frequently appears in literature on American ghettos. For example Wilson (1989) stated that the combination of unemployment, the departure of the middle class, the influx of low-income population groups, the relative increase of (poor) elderly residents, and the impoverishment of the remaining population puts pressure on the social organization of such areas. Socio-economic weak residents of these areas are restricted in their choices as individuals and are also much more dependant of their immediate environment (the neighbourhood) than other people from the mainstream society. Wilson also puts forward that isolation is a consequence of an