Immigrant and refugee mobility across the urban-rural continuum in three European countries

Author(s) : Julie Lacroix, Chia Liu, Mary Abed Al Ahad, Gunnar Andersson, Hill Kulu

Source : https://doi.org/10.1177/01979183251394007

Abstract:

International migration has historically been an urban phenomenon. Despite the increasing presence of immigrants in non-urban areas and political initiatives aimed at regionalisation, research in Europe continues to exhibit a pronounced urban analytical bias. This paper examines the geographies of immigrant and refugee settlement along the urban-rural continuum in Sweden, Germany, and Switzerland. Using (multistate) event history models, we first examine changes in migration stocks in urban, suburban, and rural municipalities, emphasising the role of immigrant subgroups in regional population changes. Second, we analyse internal origin-destination flux to enhance our understanding of the spatial adjustment processes of immigrants to and from rural, suburban, and urban areas. Results suggest that immigrants contribute little to suburbanisation and ruralisation processes, with both initial settlement and secondary moves predominantly directed toward urban areas. EU and non-EU immigrants exhibit stable trajectories post-arrival, whereas dispersed refugees relocate in large proportions to urban areas once mobility restrictions are lifted. In the three countries, the proportion of refugees living in urban areas reaches the level of the non-EU group after seven years. Furthermore, transitions from urban to suburban or rural municipalities remain uncommon and do not demonstrate clear associations with the duration of residence or socioeconomic status, as predicted by the spatial assimilation model.