Role of the residential real estate market in the ethnosocial differentiation of European capitals: London, Paris, Madrid, Berlin, and Moscow

Abstract

The paper studies the modern spatial situation of ethnosocial stratification in three large capitals of monocentric countries (London, Paris, and Moscow), as well as in Berlin and Madrid, which are not the largest cities (except population) of their countries. For Moscow, it is especially important to reveal the dependence between prices of residential real estate and settlement pattern of immigrants, since the number of immigrants is increasing. Analysis has shown that prices of residential real estate are significantly differentiated within city borders and represent the important factor in spatial social stratification. The correlation between prices of residential real estate and the share of immigrants is the largest in Moscow and the smallest in Berlin. Differences are conditioned by the degree of social stratification, the specifics of immigration, the level of social protection of immigrants, and the quality, cost, and other features of housing. The lower the social position of migrants, the larger a role ethnicity plays. On the whole, for cities with long-term immigration, the concentration of immigrants in districts with cheap housing is an indication of the social problems of these districts, and in districts with expensive housing the concentration of immigrants is an indication of social growth and the successful adaptation of immigrants. In Paris, immigrants from poor countries settle, just like in London, in areas where prices and incomes are low and unprestigious jobs are available, creating ethnic ghetto-like enclaves. The number, share, and composition of immigrants, motives, duration of immigration, and features of the cities themselves make up the specifics of ethnosocial stratification. As immigrants adapt, the role of ethnicity decreases, which reflects not only on employment, income, and quality of life, but also on place of residence within a city.