Ethnic Residential Patterns in Dutch Cities: Backgrounds, Shifts and Consequences

This article describes recent trends in the residential patterns of ethnic minorities, specifically Turks and Moroccans, in Dutch cities. In order to evaluate the patterns and their dynamics, some general observations about segregation are included. The patterns in the big cities are compared to those observed elsewhere in the country and in other European cities. This brief comparison is followed by a discussion of how the observed spatial patterns affect the social life of the groups in question. The article concludes with a list of factors that are likely to influence the evolution of ethnic residential patterns in the Netherlands in the near future. There seem to be ever fewer reasons to believe that the trend towards increasing segregation in Dutch cities can be reversed.