Großwohnsiedlungen als Ankunftsquartier? : Wanderungsbewegungen und Segregationsprozess in Halle (Saale) / Paul R. Schneider, Florian Ringel & Jonathan Everts

Abstract

In Germany, large residential housing estates built during the 1950s to 1980s have become important areas for migrants and refugees. In Eastern Germany, estates from the socialist era have lost many of their inhabitants following the reunification in 1990. Some, like those in the city of Halle (Saale), have lost more than half of their population. This downward trend has stopped now and in some areas, population size grows. For Halle (Saale), we computed the in and out-migration of large socialist housing estates from 2011 to 2018 and compared it to the late 19th century parts of the inner city which are now well-sought after residential areas. We find that German residents have left in great numbers the estates. At the same time, migrants have moved in even greater numbers to the estates. Most of them did not come from the parts of the inner city, suggesting that displacement through gentrification has not (yet) been the decisive factor for ethnic segregation. However, some migrant households are now, most recently, moving away from the estates as well and towards the city centre. This suggests that ethnic segregation is now being superseded by social segregation.