The ‘Stable Neighbourhood’ Planning Paradigm in Times of Migration and Diversity

Critical Reflections on Social Mixing Strategies – and their Relevance for Migrants' Access to Housing

Heike Hanhörster, Technische Universität Berlin

A growing body of research on arrival infrastructures and arrival neighbourhoods highlights how such spaces can provide newcomers with essential resources to adapt to their new circumstances. These neighbourhoods also perform essential integration functions for the entire city (Hanhörster/Wessendorf 2020).

In recent years, political debates across Western Europe have intensified, with renewed interest among politicians and planners in the paradigm of social mixing. The underlying assumption of these debates is that dispersing migrants and refugees might facilitate their local integration. A high proportion of migrants and high levels of fluctuation are seen as key indicators of neighbourhood instability. Allocation management is considered essential for creating 'stable neighbourhoods' through social mixing.

However, my research shows that tenant selection management aimed at stabilising neighbourhoods restricts access to the housing market, particularly for those who are perceived as potentially destabilising the neighbourhood based on their skin colour or religion. Thus, allocation strategies (unintentionally) contribute to an increase in socio-spatial inequality. I therefore advocate reinterpreting the 'stable neighbourhood' principle. Rather than using indicators such as fluctuation or the proportion of migrants, we should focus more on the functioning of local infrastructures, such as schools and other micro-publics.