Black Minority Ethnic Concentration, Segregation and Dispersal in Britain

This paper examines the post-war migration and settlement in Britain of black minority ethnic groups originating from countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the West Indies. The processes underlying the pattern of minority ethnic concentration and segregation over the past four decades are reviewed and provide a framework for interpreting the uneven pattern of deconcentration and dispersal evident over the past 10-15 years. The paper draws on evidence from the labour market and the housing market to argue that there are forces for both minority ethnic inclusion and exclusion from competition for economic rewards and social status in Britain. These forces, it is argued, produce different outcomes for different groups and a variable experience within minority ethnic groups according to generation, gender and class. A picture of fragmented social and spatial change emerges, with those of Indian origin in particular following a different trajectory from other black minority ethnic groups.