Confined Contact: Residential Segregation and Ethnic Bridges in the Netherlands

Abstract

In Dutch integration policy, ethnic concentration is assumed to have negative effects on the integration of ethnic minorities, the most important cause being the lack of contact with native Dutch. Although research on concentration effects has increased, empirical evidence to support this isolation thesis is still insufficient. This paper contributes by testing the assumption that ethnic concentration hinders the existence of ethnic bridges-i.e. the informal ties between ethnic minorities and native Dutch. Moreover, it checks for different effects for deprived and nondeprived households. Findings indicate that one's neighbourhood plays a significant role in social inclusion into Dutch society and that this effect is stronger for the non-deprived.

Modes of neighbourhood embeddedness in three multi-ethnic neighbourhoods in Lisbon. An exploratory analysis

“…2002;Pinkster and Völker, 2009). therefore, debates about ethnic residential concentration centres around the question on how it may limit opportunities for interethnic social ties to develop (semyonov and Glickman, 2009) and thus inhibit both structural and cultural integration (Bouma-Doff, 2007). Bailey et al (2012) found attachment to be lower in more deprived areas and in areas with higher population turnover confirming earlier findings (sampson, 1988), while, social mix was found to have limited influence for most groups.…”

Urban Restructuring, Displaced Households and Neighbourhood Change: Results from Three Dutch Cities

“…Ideas about the formation of ghettos and the negative ideas of living in ghettos are easily transported to Europe and adopted by politicians and policy makers as well as by some social scientists (for discussion see Van der Laan Bouma-Doff 2007 ;Van Kempen and Bolt 2012 ) . European cities are de fi nitely characterized by areas that can be called poor, distressed or disadvantaged and do contain concentrations of poor and minority ethnic groups.…”

Contested conceptions of identity, community and multiculturalism in the staging of alternative sport events: a case study of the Amsterdam World Cup football tournament

“…However, not only does it compound the Otherness of minority ethnic groups, but it appears to show little regard for wider social trends in the Netherlands. Ethnically-homogenous neighbourhoods are rare in Dutch cities, except predominantly white communities, and so contact between different minority ethnic groups often already exists in urban environments (van der Laan Bouma-Doff, 2007). This interpretation of multiculturalism has significant implications for the extent to which the tournament meets its stated aims.…”

“…As is the case in many other western nations, this retreat from multiculturalism as a state ideology can be attributed largely to claims that its implementation has created and sustained ethnic separatism and isolation. This state of affairs is perceived to have prevented minority ethnic groups both from adopting Dutch values and from having regular contact with the white Dutch population which, in turn, has inhibited their socio-economic development and social cohesion (van der Laan Bouma-Doff, 2007).…”