Geographically Inscribed Otherness: Rethinking Ethnoracial Residential Segregation in Stockholm, Sweden

• In Event: Racial and Ethnic Minorities Section Roundtables Session
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table Three: Racialized and Ethnic Migration, Immigration, and Social Integration

Abstract

This paper examines how ethnoracial divisions between non-European immigrants and majority Swedes are spatially manifested in Metropolitan Stockholm. Using a mixed-methods design that integrates exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA), spatial autoregressive modeling, and in-depth interviews, I analyze residential segregation across geographic scales and investigate the socio-economic, ethnoracial, and historical factors that contribute to these patterns, as well as how such patterns shape the everyday life chances of non-European immigrants.

At the metropolitan level, Stockholm appears relatively integrated. However, neighborhood-level analyses reveal pronounced micro-scale clustering: several suburban areas in the southwest and northwest display high divergence scores (0.33–0.65), indicating substantial demographic deviation from the broader region. This scalar contrast shows that segregation in Stockholm is not absent but spatially concentrated at smaller neighborhood scales. For residents in these neighborhoods, daily routines such as grocery shopping, dog walking, or waiting for public transit unfold in contexts marked by limited interaction with the majority population, even as the metropolitan region appears diverse.

These patterns emerge from a complex interplay of state housing policies, socio-economic disparities, and housing discrimination in Swedish rental markets. Spatial regression analyses indicate that poverty is the strongest predictor of residential segregation, highlighting the growing convergence between economic disadvantage and ethnoracial concentration.

In-depth interviews further demonstrate that while minorities value the diversity and support within their neighborhoods, residential concentration can generate reinforcing feedback loops that restrict cross-ethnoracial interaction, limit access to employment networks and urban resources, and hinder upward mobility. Importantly, neighborhoods commonly labeled “segregated” are internally diverse; what distinguishes them is the relative absence of majority Swedes. This paper concludes by emphasizing the relational nature of segregation—produced not only through minority concentration but also through majority avoidance—and underscores the importance of geographic scale in understanding urban inequality.

Author

• Beiyi Hu, Oberlin College & Conservatory