Projects per year
Abstract
Scholars examining different aspects of migrant settlement have long recognised the importance of questions around how newcomers forge a sense of connectedness to the society in which they settle. This article contributes new knowledge by focusing on three factors which shape migrants’ sense of belonging: firstly, the immigration-related diversity of the neighbourhood in which they settle; secondly, the migrants’ social location in regards to race, gender, religion and language; and thirdly, migrants’ previous experiences of migration-related diversity. Drawing on theories around civility, cosmopolitanism and migrant ‘place making’, and by comparing recent migrants in Birmingham and East London, the article focuses on the role of social interactions and encounters in public space. While migrants who had little previous experiences of diversity go through a process of multicultural adaptation when settling in ethnically diverse areas, others stressed the need to live in areas characterised by visible diversity because of fear of racism. Furthermore, their sense of belonging was also shaped by previous experiences of exclusion in countries of transit migration. The findings highlight that it is not necessarily the ethnic make-up of a city overall which impacts on a migrants’ sense of belonging, but it is the neighbourhood, the immediate locality in which migrants live and the nature of social interactions with other residents in such areas which crucially impacts on their sense of inclusion or exclusion.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 131-156 |
Number of pages | 26 |
Journal | Urban Studies |
Volume | 56 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 16 Nov 2017 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2019 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Copyright © and Moral Rights are retained by the author(s) and/ or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This item cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Keywords
- diversity
- interaction
- migration
- neighbourhoods
- pioneer migrants
Themes
- Equality and Inclusion
- Migration (In)Equality and Belonging
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Migrant belonging, social location and the neighbourhood: recent migrants in East London and Birmingham'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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Recent migrants in super-diverse contexts
Wessendorf, S. (Principal Investigator)
1/05/15 → 31/10/17
Project: Research
Profiles
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Susanne Wessendorf
- Research Centre for Peace and Security - Professor of Social Anthropology
Person: Teaching and Research