Ethnic segregation is consolidated by differences between ethnic groups with regard to their moving decision. Using unique registration data on population flows between neighborhoods we show that native Dutch living in neighborhoods where ethnic minorities are overrepresented are more likely to move than minority ethnic residents. Moreover, they move much more often to ‘white’ neighborhoods. Urban policies in the Netherlands focus on countering this tendency of segregation but are based on simplified assumptions about the causes of residential segregation. Next to that, the optimism about the positive effects of the social mix is hardly substantiated by empirical research.

Much of the academic research on residential segregation emphasizes the negative effects of the disadvantageous influence of living in a spatial concentration of deprivation (Massey and Denton, 1993; Wilson, 1987). The general idea is that living in a deprived district can have negative consequences for the social position and social mobility of the residents, because they lack contact with relevant people and institutions or they have too many “wrong” contacts Massey and Fong, 1990; South and Crowder, 1998; South, Crowder and Chavez, 2005). These negative consequences are mainly problematic for people who are not in a position to move away from disadvantageous neighborhoods. Research has shown that deprivation in a neighborhood can have many negative consequences, such as the occurrence of teenage pregnancies (Anderson, 1999); low socioeconomic position (Galster, Metzger and Waite, 1999); school dropout (Overman, 2002); poor educational achievement; and retarded child development (Crane, 1991; Duncan, Brooks-Gunn, and Klebanov, 1994); limited transfer from unemployment to work (Van der Klaauw and Ours, 2003); deviant behavior (Friedrichs and Blasius, 2003); social exclusion (Buck, 2001); victimization (Sampson, Raudenbush, and Earls, 1997); and poor access to the labor market (Ihlanfeldt and Sjoquist, 1998).

In the literature on ethnic segregation, however, there is also attention to the possible positive effects of ethnic segregation. Spatial concentrations can have an important expressive function, assisting with the maintenance of a group’s cultural traditions (Dunn, 1998). Next to that, living in an ethnic enclave makes it easier to maintain ethnic networks, through which people are able to derive benefits from each other and offer support to one another (Bolt et al., 1998). Moreover, ethnic neighborhoods may function as a safe haven in a hostile environment (Boal, 1976) and they may provide alternative channels for social mobility (Portes & Zhou, 1993).

While there is attention to the positive as well as negative effects of ethnic concentration in the literature, the focus in policy circles is almost exclusively negative. That is the reason why urban policies in the Netherlands are, like in an increasing number of other Western European countries, directed at countering residential segregation and spatial concentration of low-income households and minority ethnic groups (Kleinhans, 2004; Musterd, 2003; Veldboer et al., 2002). The Dutch government believes that the concentration of ethnic minorities in certain urban neighborhoods hampers their integration and participation in society. In the Yearly Memorandum on Integration Policy (Ministerie van Justitie, 2005, p. 19, own translation) it is stated that “…Concentration is especially disadvantageous for integration because it results in an accumulation of social problems which may eventuate in a state of affairs that is very hard to handle (…). Concentration is also disadvantageous because it makes the ethnic dividing lines more visible in a more concentrated way. That harms the image of ethnic minorities (…). Finally, concentration is particularly disadvantageous for the possibility of meeting and contacts between persons from different origin groups (…) the diminishing contacts with native Dutch indirectly influence the social chances of ethnic minorities”.

The most important measure to counter segregation is to create more social mix by means of differentiation of the housing stock. The aim of this paper is to critically examine the foundations of the Dutch anti-segregation policy by answering two questions. First, to what extent are the supposed positive effects of social and ethnic mixing found in empirical research? This question will be answered on the basis of a literature review.