Speaker
Description
Migration flows are becoming increasingly polarized in many cities worldwide, widening the gap between vulnerable and privileged migrants and, more broadly, sharpening class differences in our cities. This division is particularly evident in highly attractive and economically competitive cities like Zurich, where the polarization of the migration configuration is becoming evident in the social geography of the urban area and in access inequalities to the housing market.
Migration and mobility studies have long uncovered that definitions and categorization of migrants/natives and foreigners/nationals are class-specific (Castles, 2010; Çaglar, 2017) and that global mobility, not unlike other global phenomena, is unequal (Söderström et al., 2013) and can be characterized both by privileges and vulnerabilities. Some authors have, therefore, pointed out the necessity to look at privileged and unprivileged migration as a continuum (Cranston and Duplan, 2022) as their interrelations have been made evident e.g., in the job market. However, to deepen and expand this argument, the urban rental housing segment still needs further investigation.
In this paper, the concept of ‘migrant’ is understood as a socio-political construct (Glick Schiller and Salazar, 2013; Wyss and Dahinden, 2022) where the border regimes of the nation-states regulate and decide who is a migrant in opposition to who is a national (Scheel and Tazzioli, 2022). In the housing market, more specifically, it is often based on individual characteristics that migrant representations and perceptions are made – sometimes regardless of the residents’ actual migratory background – like legal status, race, language, religion, or cultural norms (Semprebon et al., 2022). Among these characteristics are also indicators of economic status, such as income, profession, education level, and, more broadly, class (Ibid.).
This study challenges the assumption that all migrants face the same disadvantages and discriminations in the housing market and instead seeks to introduce a more nuanced, class-oriented analysis. Specifically, it examines how class - understood through an intersectional framework - shapes housing access for both lower- and upper-class migrant groups in the Zurich urban area. Given Zurich’s strong economic competitiveness, its increasing socioeconomic polarization, and the severity of its housing crisis, understanding the mechanisms that influence housing access is crucial.
More precisely, we ask: What are the main mechanisms in the housing access process for lower- and upper-class migrants? To answer this research question, we conducted twenty-four in-depth qualitative interviews with stakeholders and users of urban housing in Zurich to: first, study the housing access process (housing search, home viewing, application procedure, selection process, property allocation, and final access); second, look at both the human (landlords, real estates, intermediaries) and digital factors (platforms, documentation, background checks); third, understand their impact in terms of housing accessibility (housing affordability, housing and neighborhood quality and location, housing trajectories and security) for migrants by class.
Our key finding is that class – at the intersection with the migratory background - plays a prominent role in shaping human and digital interactions throughout the housing access process. Specifically, economic conditions – such as income, title, profession, and employer – significantly influence the extent to which migrants’ applications are selected and their housing needs - in economic, social, and spatial terms - are met.
Why does money count the most in housing accessibility for the migrant population in the Zurich metropolitan area? We believe it is because of political responsibilities: 1. because of economic development strategies meant to attract and facilitate upper-class migrants; 2. because of profit-oriented logic in the provision and allocation of housing that privileges upper-class migrants; 3. because of inadequate provision of affordable and accessible housing for lower-class migrants.
References
Çaglar, Ayse (2017). Migrants in Disempowered Cities: Opportunities and Challenges. New York.
Castles, Stephen (2010). Understanding global migration: A social transformation perspective. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 36(10), p. 1565–1586.
Cranston, Sophie and Duplan, Karine (2022). A Reflexive Perspective on Privileged Migration Studies. What’s the Point? nccr-onthemove.ch /blog/a-reflexive-perspective-on-privileged-migration-studies-whats-the-point/ [Accessed: 2024-03-22].
Glick Schiller, Nina and Salazar, Noel B. (2013). Regimes of Mobility Across the Globe. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 39(2), p. 183–200.
Scheel, Stephan and Tazzioli, Martina (2022). Who is a Migrant? Abandoning the Nation-state Point of View in the Study of Migration. Migration Politics, 1(1).
Semprebon, Michela, Marconi, Giovanna, Ferlicca, Francesca and Albanese, Flavia (2022). Migrants’ Right to Adequate Housing: Barriers, Policies and Practices. In: Münch, Sybille and Siede, Anna (eds.) Precarious Housing in Europe: a critical guide. Krems: Edition Donau-Universität Krems, p. 140–226.
Söderström, Ola, Randeria, Shalini, Ruedin, Didier, D’Amato, Gianni and Panese, Francesco (2013). Of Mobilities and Moorings: Critical Perspectives. In: Söderström, Ola, Randeria, Shalini, Ruedin, Didier, D’Amato, Gianni, and Panese, Francesco (eds.) Critical Mobilities. Lausanne: EPFL Press, p. III–XXV.
Wyss, Anna and Dahinden, Janine (2022). Disentangling entangled mobilities: reflections on forms of knowledge production within migration studies. Comparative Migration Studies, 10(1).
| Keywords | Migration; polarization; housing accessibility; class; Zurich |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
