Residential Trajectories of Migrant Nest-Leavers: Distance from Parents and Ethnic Residential Segregation

Jorbe Renders , University of Antwerp
Karel Neels, University of Antwerp
Jonas Wood, University of Antwerp

For young adults, leaving the parental home constitutes the start of their independent residential trajectory. Thus far, the small body of literature on nest-leaving among descendants of first generation migrants has largely ignored the spatial trajectories of these young adults in terms of (de)segregation and distance to parents. Addressing these dimensions, however, is crucial as many descendants of first generation migrants begin their housing careers in segregated neighborhoods that may constrain their residential trajectories. Moreover, many nest-leavers rarely move over long distances. For descendants of first generation migrants, this proximity to parents may imply remaining within segregated neighborhoods. Understanding how these processes are interconnected may therefore provide information in the perpetuating character of spatial inequalities in the urban landscape, at least in young adulthood. By focusing on the residential mobility of native, G1,5 and G2 migrant nest-leavers living in segregated neighborhoods, we examine their move out of the parental home towards different destination neighborhoods with regard to parental proximity and ethnic residential segregation. Using Belgian census and microdata for the period 2000-2015, this paper addresses three research questions. First, to what extent do nest-leavers move to different destination neighborhoods with respect to parental proximity and ethnic residential segregation? Second, to which extent do the residential trajectories of nest-leavers vary across natives and G1,5 and G2 North-West European, Eastern European, Southern European, Maghrebi, Turkish, and other non-European migrants? Third, which individual, parental and neighborhood characteristics explain the differential spatial mobility between natives and the descendants of first generation migrants?

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 Presented in Session 64. Flash Session Residential Context and Spatial Segregation in Migrant Populations