Residential segregation

Residential patterns of Polish immigrants in Reykjavík

Abstract

This article examines the residential segregation of polish immigrants in Reykjavik relative to people with and Icelandic background living there. Residential segregation gives indications about how well the immigrant group has integrated into their host society and has implications for immigrant well-being as well as future opportunities for their children. The analysis presented are descriptive statistics, correlation coefficients and indexes of dissimilarity used to compare residential patterns of polish immigrants with people with an Icelandic background on the basis of Reykjavik city school districts. The results suggest that the residential segregation of polish immigrants in Reykjavik is low to moderate. Nevertheless, there are two areas in Reykjavik where Polish immigrants are concentrated. In one area the immigrants tend to have lower incomes and have lived in Iceland for a shorter time than in the other area. The Polish immigrants with the longest stay and the highest incomes, however, tend to live in areas with few other Polish immigrants. The results align most closely with theories of segmented assimilation. However, they may also reflect a particular phase in the integration of Polish immigrants into Icelandic society that in the long-run may develop more in line with classical assimilation theory.