Signalling inclusion, increasing belonging: People without a migration background in ethnically diverse neighbourhoods

Abstract

Many cities in Western Europe have become superdiverse. Yet, even if different ethnic groups live in the same neighbourhoods, they often do not interact. In particular, people without a migration background tend to segregate in multicultural cities and have little contact with people of other ethnic backgrounds. To receive a better understanding of mechanisms underlying processes of segregation in such neighbourhoods, we focus on contexts in which people without a migration background are a numerical ethnic minority while another ethnic group is dominant. Using a vignette survey experiment conducted in Amsterdam (n = 364), we show that certain forms of inclusion indirectly increase the willingness to frequent places in the neighbourhood in which people without a migration background are an ethnic minority. In particular, we examine the effects of a direct (all-inclusive approach) and an indirect (numerical representation) form of inclusion on the feeling of belonging. The results show that the feeling of belonging is increased by a direct sign of inclusion which in turn increases the willingness to frequent the contexts. This article contributes to our understanding of mechanisms underlying processes of segregation from the perspective of people without a migration background in context where they are a numerical ethnic minority.