Ethnicity and Integration: Understanding Population Trends and Processes: volume 3

326 Pages·2010·5.008 MB·English

by  John Stillwell, Maarten van Ham (auth.), John Stillwell, Maarten van Ham (eds.)

Ethnicity and Integration
Understanding Population Trends and Processes
Volume 3
SeriesEditor
J.Stillwell
In western Europe and other developed parts of the world, there are some very
significant demographic processes taking place at the individual, household, com-
munity and national scales including the ageing of the population, the delay in
childbearing, the rise in childlessness, the increase in divorce, the fall in marriage
rates, the increase in cohabitation, the increase in mixed marriages, the change in
householdstructures,theriseinstep-parenting,andtheappearanceofnewstreams
of migration taking place both within and between countries. The relationships
between demographic change, international migration, labour and housing market
dynamics,careprovisionandintergenerationalattitudesarecomplextounderstand
andyetitisvitaltoquantifythetrendsandtounderstandtheprocesses.Similarly,
itiscriticaltoappreciatewhatthepolicyconsequencesareforthetrendsandpro-
cesses that have become apparent. This series has its roots in understanding and
analyzingthesetrendsandprocesses.
This series will be of interest to a wide range of individuals with interests in
demographic and socialchange, including demographers, population geographers,
sociologists,economists,politicalscientists,epidemiologistsandhealthresearchers
andwellaspractitionersandcommentatorsacrossthesocialsciences.
Forfurthervolumes:
http://www.springer.com/series/8113
Ethnicity and Integration
Understanding Population Trends
and Processes – Volume 3
Editedby
JohnStillwell
UniversityofLeeds,UK
and
MaartenvanHam
UniversityofSt.Andrews,UK
123
Editors
ProfessorJohnStillwell Dr.MaartenvanHam
UniversityofLeeds UniversityofStAndrews
SchoolofGeography SchoolofGeographyandGeosciences
CentreforHousingResearch
Fac.EarthandEnvironment
FifeKY169AL
WoodhouseLane
UnitedKingdom
LeedsLS29JT [email protected]
UnitedKingdom
[email protected]
ISBN978-90-481-9102-4 e-ISBN978-90-481-9103-1
DOI10.1007/978-90-481-9103-1
SpringerDordrechtHeidelbergLondonNewYork
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2010930915
©SpringerScience+BusinessMediaB.V.2010
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ofbeingenteredandexecutedonacomputersystem,forexclusiveusebythepurchaserofthework.
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Foreword
Robustandforensicanalysisofrelevantdatasupportedbyscientificmethodologies
is key to challenging contemporary debates around the use and abuse of race
statistics. Controversies surrounding the collection, interpretation and use of race,
ethnicityandethnicgroupdatahavealonghistory.BeingrootedinEugenics,this
area of study has sparked intense reactions over the years. The abuse of ‘race’
statisticsisnotonlyapparentduringtimesofuncertaintybuthasbeenentrenchedin
social policies and political discourses in Britain since the 1950s. The collection
of research studies in this book is therefore much needed and timely, not least
becauseofrecentdebatessurroundingthenatureandinteractionsofminorityethnic
populationsinBritain.
The numbers game is not new in British political discourses but took a nasty
turnpost9/11andpeakedpost7/7 withdiversitybeingnegativelyassociatedwith
concerns in relation to population segregation, community conflicts and terrorism.
This book effectively debunks several myths and misinterpretions pertaining to
population diversity, spatial density and the nature of social relationships between
minority and majority groups. More importantly, armed with scientific evidence,
it challenges the claim that spatial segregation along ethnic and racial lines
is necessarily an indication of community tensions, social fragmentation and
communityconflicts.
Despite the obvious benefits of valid and reliable data on population diversity
for understanding social change and improving social conditions, there was little
appetiteonthepartoftheBritishGovernmenttoformallycollectnationalstatistics
onethnicityuntil1991.Notwithstandingthis,thechaptersinthisbookdemonstrate
that data from the 1991 and 2001 Censuses can, despite their limitations, provide
Kay Hampton (BA Hons, MA, PhD, FRSA, FHEA) is Professor in Communities and Race
Relations at the Glasgow Caledonian University. She was Chair, Deputy Chair and Scottish
Commissioner on the Commission for Racial Equality (2003–2007) and Commissioner on the
EqualityandHumanRightsCommission(2006–2009).SheiscurrentlyaCommissionerforthe
ScottishHumanRightsCommission.
1ThebombingsoftheTwinTowersinNewYorkon9September2001andtheLondonbombings
on7July2005.
v
vi Foreword
useful baseline statistics for conducting in-depth, analytical studies in contested
areasof‘race’andethnicity.
A significant contribution of this book is that it reports on a wide range of
contemporaryissuesrelatingtodiversity,segregation,integration,multiculturalism,
immigration and population growth, and puts to rest uncertainities surrounding
the careless claims made in this regard. The last five years have seen political
leaders and power elites make unfounded pronouncements about the relationship
betweendiversityandsocialinstability,manydemandingthatwesociallyengineer
integrationbyimposingaso-calledsenseof‘Britishness’.
Indeed,apreviouschairoftheCommissionforRacialEquality(nowChairofthe
EqualityandHumanRightsCommission)hasnotablypaintedadramaticpictureof
widespreadfragmentationalongracialandethniclines.Whilstusingsomerelevant
data, creative interpretation of its implications served to create a sense of urgency
andtheestablishmentofanentireGovernmentdepartmenttopromote‘community
cohesion’sothatthecountrymaybeprotectedfromactsof‘homegrown’terrorists.
Contrary to these alarmist predictions, this book provides solid evidence which
paints a much more realistic and positive picture of the state of our communities
inBritain.
In this regard, Sabater (Chapter 3) demonstrates clearly that despite the growth
of certain ethnic minority groups between 1991 and 2001 in England and Wales,
ethnic residential segregation has reduced for all groups over time and age
cohorts. Similarly, Simon (Chapter 7) provides solid evidence to challenge the
misconception that people from ethnic minority groups in Britain, self-segregate.
Shearguesinsteadthatthereisastrongtendencytomoveawayfromareaswithhigh
concentrationoftheirowngroupand,asaconsequence,majorcitiesarebecoming
morediverse.
Thisbookprovesthatheadlinegrabbingsoundbitesrelatingtotheso-called‘end
ofmulticulturalism’;‘sleepwalkingtosegregation’;‘ruralapartheid’;‘fullyfledged
ghettos’; and ‘White flight’ are often based on patchy knowledge and careless
interpretationofdata.Indeed,theyservetoinflameandcreatecommunitytensions
whereoftennoneexists.Thisisthenfollowedbybenignsuggestionsastohowthese
maybeaddressedbyGovernment.Oftenvoicedintimesofsocialcrisis,powerelites
attempt to appease community fear and insecurity. These announcements often
arisefromaninabilitytoappreciatethehomogeneityofethnicgroupsasreflected
in Mitton and Aspinall’s Chapter (9) and the impact of broader social influences
highlightedbyHigginsandDale(Chapter10).Ineffect,thisbooknotonlyprovides
comprehensiveinsightsintothespatialdistributionofpopulationgroupsinBritain
(Stafford et al., Chapter 11), but also provides a better understanding of how
minoritygroupsinteractwithmajoritygroups.
In the context of contemporary political pressure to ‘integrate’, the drive for a
universal British identity is unlikely to be easily achieved given the complexities
discussed by Stillwell and van Ham (Chapter 1) and therein lies the strength of
this collection of research. It is grounded in evidence and makes clear that any
advancement towards building stable communities must include considerations of
populationdistributionanddensity;andofpoliticalstructure,cultureandclarityof
Foreword vii
conceptual meaning. Inconsistent analysis of these critical factors will inevitably
resultinflawedunderstandingsandunrealisableoutcomes.
Aswemovetowardsthenextcensus(2011),thecontributionsheregiveusmuch
foodforthought.Inadditiontodemonstratingthecomplexityaroundtheanalysisof
ethnicity,diversityanddensitydataincontemporarysocieties,itisasharpreminder
ofthefollyofcreatingnationalpolicyonmisinformedandheadlinegrabbingsound
bites.
Glasgow KayHampton
December2009
Preface
ViewsonthechangingethniccompositionoftheBritishpopulationanditsimplica-
tionsaredivided.Somepeopleconsiderthatthefragmentationofoursocietybyrace
andethnicityisacatastropheresultinginspatialsegregationandcommunitybreak-
down;forothers,theculturaldiversityassociatedwithethnicpluralismissomething
positive to be celebrated and enjoyed as we move towards a more integrated soci-
ety.Thereisunanimityinthinkingthatintegrationhastobeatwo-wayprocess,in
whichthesettledcommunitiesacceptthatnewpeoplewillbringchangewiththem
andnewcomersrealisethattheytoowillhavetochangeifwearetomovecloserto
anintegratedsociety.TrevorPhillips,chairmanoftheEqualityandHumanRights
Commission, favours policies that will stress sameness rather than distinctiveness
andpromotecommonBritishvalues.
Theresearchthatisreportedinthechaptersofthisbookaddressesmanyofthe
keyissuesassociatedwithethnicityandintegrationthatchallengesocialscientists,
including a better understanding of ethnic population change and residential con-
centration, ethnic household dynamics such as fertility and mixed-ethnic unions,
internalandinternationalmigration,therelationshipbetweenethnicityandhealth,
crime,identityandlanguage,aswellasethnicpopulationprojection.Collectively,
thefindingsofthedifferentresearchprojectsconstituteanevidencebaseuponwhich
policymakersandpractitionerscandrawwhenformulatingsolutionstotherangeof
problemsatlocal,regionalandnationallevelthatareassociatedwithanincreasingly
multi-ethnicsociety.
This volume is the third in a series on ‘Understanding Population Trends and
Processes’,whichisbasedonresearchcontributionstoourknowledgeofdifferent
aspectsofpopulationstructureanddistribution,involvesthequantitativeanalysisof
secondarydatafromcensuses,surveysoradministrativerecords,andreportsresults
forBritainand,insomecases,elsewhereinEurope.
Leeds,UK JohnStillwell
StAndrews,UK MaartenvanHam
December2009
ix
Acknowledgements
All the research projects reported in this volume have been funded by the UK
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as part of the ‘Understanding
Population Trends and Processes’ (UPTAP) programme (2005–2009). The editors
wouldliketoexpresstheirthankstoallthechapterauthorsforsubmittingtheirini-
tial manuscripts on schedule, responding positively to comments and suggestions
fromtheeditorsanddeliveringfinalversionsofchapterswithminimumdelay.
LisaYoungman,theUPTAPadministrator,hasundertakenthetaskofproofread-
ingthefinalmanuscriptandDavidAppleyard,thegraphicstechnicianintheSchool
ofGeographyattheUniversityofLeeds,hasredrawnallthegraphsandmaps.The
editorsareverygratefultobothLisaandDavidfortheirefforts.
xi
Contents
1 EthnicityandIntegration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
JohnStillwellandMaartenvanHam
2 Ethnic Group Population Change and Integration:
ADemographicPerspectiveonEthnicGeographies . . . . . . . . . 27
NissaFinney
3 EthnicResidentialSegregationChangeinEnglandandWales . . . 47
AlbertSabater
4 EthnicityandFertilityintheUnitedKingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
SylvieDubucandJohnHaskey
5 Neighbourhood Ethnic Mix and the Formation
ofMixed-EthnicUnionsinBritain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
ZhiqiangFeng,PaulBoyle,MaartenvanHamandGillianRaab
6 EthnicInternalMigrationinEnglandandWales:Spatial
AnalysisUsingaDistrictClassificationFramework . . . . . . . . . 105
JohnStillwellandSerenaHussain
7 Do Ethnic Groups Migrate Towards Areas of High
ConcentrationofTheirOwnGroupWithinEnglandandWales? . 133
AntoniaSimon
8 UnderstandingtheImpactofImmigrationontheLabour
MarketOutcomesofBritishWorkers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
MarinaShaginyan-Shapira
9 BlackAfricansinEngland:ADiversityofIntegrationExperiences 179
LaviniaMittonandPeterAspinall
10 EthnicDifferencesinPhysicalActivityandObesity . . . . . . . . . 203
VanessaHigginsandAngelaDale
11 RacialDiscriminationandHealth:ExploringthePossible
ProtectiveEffectsofEthnicDensity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
MaiStafford,LaiaBécaresandJamesNazroo
xiii