The Role of Foreign Migration in the Changing Socio-Spatial Differentiation of Prague

Abstract

Abstract:Investigating the spatial differentiation of foreign populations in cities, especially the level of ethnic segregation, has a long tradition in Western European and American social geography. Owing to increased international mobility since the 1990s, it has also become relevant for some post-socialist cities. This article examines how the growing ethnic heterogeneity of the urban population is reflected in the spatial distribution of foreign citizens in Prague, which is now a unique example of a newly multicultural post-socialist capital. The analysis uses the migration register and census data based on citizenship. The results suggest that foreign citizens are a factor in the transformation of the ethnic structure of the population especially in the inner city and the historical core. Ethnic segregation appears to be most pronounced among economically stronger and culturally distant groups, but concentrations of foreign citizens are forming on the level of localities rather than urban quarters. The article offers the first insight into the relationship between international migration and a post-socialist city, which, soon after the fall of communism, became a destination of international immigration.

Immigrant internal migration in a new destination country: Do immigrants suburbanise in Czechia and why?

“…Internal migration of other citizenship groups (Vietnamese, Russian, and other) continued to grow and only declined after 2012.On the other hand, an increase in internal mobility was observed for citizens of Slovakia and other CEE countries as well as for citizens of EU15 and the United States. This corroborates findings ofPřidalová and Ouředníček (2017) based on data for Prague, where, after the onset of the economic downturn and the related tightening of the Czech migration policy, third country citizens were replaced by EU citizens in the largest migration flows, as the conditions on entry and residence became more strict for the former than the latter.The proportion of up-scale and down-scale migration also differs considerably among citizenship groups. Some of the most established groups (Ukrainians, Vietnamese, and Russians), but also the residual category of others, show a growing proportion of down-scale migration.…”

“…Although much academic literature has challenged this popular assumption (Finney & Simpson, 2009b), a greater understanding of the underlying forces of population change is still needed. It was beyond the scope of this paper to assess the extent of segregation; however, our results as well as previous studies find little indication of immigrant internal migration in Czechia causing spatial segregation (Přidalová & Ouředníček, 2017).…”

Housing estates in Europe: poverty, ethnic segregation and policy challenges

“…Today, most of the housing estates in Prague can be evaluated as non-problematic residential areas. They are very stable parts of the metropolis, with the lowest fluctuation of people among all other types of residential areas (Přidalová and Ouředníček 2017), with a growing diversification of functional use, different types of housing and socio-economic differentiation. Housing estates have very low segregation tendencies , although there are a number of enclaves of foreigners from the post-Soviet regions and Asia.…”

“…There are also considerable differences in the structure of the foreign population according to the country of origin. While better-off foreigners from the Western world tend to seek flats in the city centre and suburbs, comparatively cheaper housing estates attract post-Soviet and Asian foreigners (Přidalová and Ouředníček 2017). Ukrainians, Russians and Vietnamese are the most common ethnic groups.…”

Long-term Development and Current Socio-Spatial Differentiation of Housing Estates in Prague, Czechia

“…They are very stable parts of the metropolis, with the lowest fluctuation of people among all other types of residential areas (Přidalová and Ouředníček 2017), with a growing diversification of functional use, different types of housing and socio-economic differentiation. Housing estates have very low segregation tendencies , although there are a number of enclaves of foreigners from the post-Soviet regions and Asia.…”