Belastede boligområder - Amternes og Kommunernes ...

Is residential fragmentation an obstacle to integration?
There is little knowledge for Denmark of the extent to which growing up in
a socially deprived residential area has a negative impact on the future
prospects of children and young people. This question is discussed with
particular reference to the integration of ethnic minorities in Danish society.
Foreign research, especially American, shows that children and young
people from the American ghettos manage less well than their contemporaries.
It is quite unsure whether this can be ascribed to their growing up in a
ghetto. The fact of the matter is that the parents of these children and young
people often have poor resources, which in itself does not make their
chances good (negative social heritage) irrespective of whether or not they
have grown up in a socially deprived residential area. The general impression
of the American studies is that when allowance is made for the significance
of the negative social heritage, growing up in a ghetto does not in
itself have any particular independent negative significance.
It is quite questionable whether American experience can be transferred
to Danish conditions. American ghettos are very much worse than the
socially deprived residential areas in Denmark. A comparative analysis of
Paris and Chicago shows the weakest effects in Paris. As the large Danish
cities have more similarities with Paris than with Chicago, it may be expected
that growing up in a socially deprived residential area in Denmark
is of relatively poor or perhaps no significance for the futures of children
and young people. However, we lack concrete knowledge. Most recently,
a Swedish study has shown that growing up in municipalities with a high
concentration of the nationality in question has positive effects on the
earning and labour market association of refugees.
Notes
1. Pursuant to the Act on the Acquisition of Real Property The Ministry of Justice can grant
an exemption from this rule.
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