Abstract
In recent years, the question of how urban spaces support the arrival of immigrants has found increased attention among scholars. The emerging discussion uses terms like arrival cities, arrival neighbourhoods, arrival spaces, arrival contexts, or arrival infrastructures to refer to local conditions which support immigrant inclusion. This discussion, however, tends to focus empirically and conceptually on neighbourhoods or cities with long-standing migration histories. Connected to this, arrival spaces are often conceptualised as spaces with strong migrant support networks and economies, as well as with high levels of functional diversity and a high fluctuation of residents. Less focus is placed on the question of if and how destinations that lack these characteristics support the arrival of new immigrants. This contribution focuses on this by discussing existent conceptualisations of arrival spaces and contrasting them with empirical illustrations of peripheral estate neighbourhoods in east German cities that have experienced a substantial population loss since the 1990s, resulting in the partial demolition of housing and infrastructure. Since the refugee migration to Germany starting in 2015, the population dynamic in these neighbourhoods has changed substantially. We contrast these developments with the literature on arrival contexts in order to reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the concept, specifically regarding the conditions in new destinations where migrant networks and economies are still emerging, functional diversity is low, and the role of residential fluctuation is unclear. While this article draws on empirical material, its major objective is to point out the blind spots in the current discussion around arrival spaces. It develops questions and offers a research agenda that introduces a wider and more varied set of neighbourhoods into the evolving research agenda on arrival spaces.
Highlights
In recent years, terms like arrival cities, neighbourhoods, contexts, spaces, or infrastructures have become increasingly popular among planners and scholars
A rather new debate—originating from the book Arrival City written by Canadian journalist Doug Saunders (2011)—uses terms like arrival city, arrival neighbourhood, arrival spaces, and arrival infrastructure to counter this view
The literature on arrival neighbourhoods describes them as places with (a) a significant share of immigrant residents and networks, due to a long-standing migration history, that are (b) dense in terms of their built environment and functional diversity, are (c) marked by a high degree of spatial mobility and that (d) often have a more affordable housing market and a concentration of socio-economically disadvantaged households
Summary
Terms like arrival cities, neighbourhoods, contexts, spaces, or infrastructures have become increasingly popular among planners and scholars They are often employed to introduce a perspective on immigrant. We discuss the concept of arrival neighbourhoods by looking at three cases of peripheral housing estates in East Germany that have become major destinations for immigrants only recently, during the course of the recent refugee migration to Germany that started in 2015. While we use these neighbourhoods as illustrations, the article’s aim is a conceptual one.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
