How ethnic mix changes and what this means for integration: understanding neighbourhood population dynamics of ethnic groups
Nissa Finney

CCSR, University of Manchester

Neighbourhoods are dynamic; places of coming and going. The ethnic mix of an area, for example, changes as people move in and out, are born and die. Understanding the processes of ethnic group population change in neighbourhoods is part of understanding the social meaning of residential ethnic composition.
This paper first compares the contributions of natural change (births and deaths) and migration to ethnic group population change across neighbourhoods and between ethnic groups in those neighbourhoods. It demonstrates the importance of in-situ natural change for the South Asian ethnic groups who are established residents with high proportions of young productive people in their populations; and the importance of migration for neighbourhood population change for ethnic groups with high proportions of recent immigrants. Second, the paper compares internal migration of ethnic groups to and from areas of varying co-ethnic diversity, urban-ness and deprivation. Do certain ethnic groups move to certain types of areas? The paper finds few ethnic differences in geographies of migration for people of all ages and in general shows dispersal from co-ethnic concentration. Finally, the paper investigates whether neighbourhood migration characteristics are associated with ethnic inequalities. Do areas with greater ethnic equality have certain forms of population dynamics?
This paper uses components of population change estimates for wards of England and Wales 1991-2001 and 2001 Census aggregate and micro-data. The paper concludes with comments on the implications of the findings for ethnic segregation debates and community cohesion policies.