Segregation and Migration of the Second Generation of Guestworker Minorities in Düsseldorf

Abstract

Government policies to promote the integration of guestworker families, and especially the second generation, have been confused in Germany by the often repeated statement that Germany is not a land of immigration. Nevertheless, since the late 1970s there has been a rapid process of family reunification creating an important ethnic minority community in the country. Whilst certain indicators of the integration of young people (for example school achievement) show improvement, the residential segregation of guestworkers remains a considerable barrier to further inter-ethnic mixing. Analysisjof residential patterns and of migration flows between urban sub -areas, shows that in Diisseldorf there has been little improvement in the living conditions and levels of segregation of guestworkers over recent years. There is evidence that they are more constrained in housing choice now than used to be the case, shown by a reduced level of intra-urban migration. It is argued that the key to future integration processes must lie in the improvement of housing opportunities for guestworker families.