Neighbourhood Ties and Migrant Networks: The Case of Circular Ukrainian Migrants in Warsaw, Poland

The paper deals with the importance of neighbourhood ties in the social networks of circular migrants. While existing research shows that social networks constitute a crucial element in the process of circular migration, not much is known about the extent to which these networks are territorialised. The paper discusses this issue by analysing the case of Ukrainian migrants in Warsaw and its suburbs, who are close to the receiving society in both cultural and geographic terms and thus make this group a unique case compared to immigrants travelling to Europe from more distant places. The analyses are based on data collected in a survey on Ukrainian migrants carried out in 2010 by the Centre of Migration Research, University of Warsaw, with the help of Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS). The studied sample consists of 342 respondents with different duration of migration from Ukraine to Poland. The paper argues that neighbourhood ties do not play an important role in the social capital and mobility patterns of Ukrainian circular migrants. The social relations of migrants are formed through ethnic and kinship ties, which are not related to a specific local area. The analyses also confirm earlier findings which show that Ukrainian migrants do not tend to concentrate spatially in the Warsaw metropolitan area, but which do point to the existence of small ethnic clusters. However, these seem to be determined by structural factors such as the availability of flats rather than individual preferences to live close to co-ethnics, which altogether suggests that there is a limited potential for local community formation among Ukrainian migrants

The role of moderating and mediating factors in the relationship between objective and perceived social diversity, and neighbourhood attachment

This thesis examines the relationship between neighbourhood diversity – in the ethnic, income, and age dimension – and place attachment. Drawing on the sociological literature on the 'diversity effect' and theories originating from social and environmental psychology, this research investigates the moderating role of individual social ties, and the mediating role of affective appraisals in shaping this relationship. Therefore, it provides a psychological perspective to the ongoing scholarly debate on the consequences of ethnic diversity for social cohesion, of which place attachment is an indicator. The thesis addresses both objective and perceived diversity. Three interrelated studies were done, which applied a mixed methods approach. Study 1 was an international survey conducted in six European cities, and focused on ethnic diversity. It revealed a negative relationship between objectively measured ethnic diversity and place attachment, which is in line with macro-level sociological theories such as the conflict/threat theory, homophily principle or conflict of norms theory (Tolsma & van der Meer, 2014). This relationship was, however, moderated by interethnic ties, differently for native and migrant residents. The negative effect of ethnic diversity on place attachment was reduced for natives who had interethnic ties, which supports the contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954; Pettigrew, 1988), and for migrants with mono-ethnic ties. This asymmetry between natives and migrants may be explained by the different meaning that a diverse setting and interethnic ties have for the majority and minority group members. Study 2 was a qualitative study which investigated perceptions of three types of social diversity – ethnic, age and income diversity among residents of three socially diverse neighbourhoods in Warsaw. It revealed that inhabitants of Warsaw, while speaking of neighbourhood diversity, divided their neighbours into two categories only: the ‘ordinary, normal’ residents and these who disrespected the norms of neighbourhood coexistence. They perceived socioeconomic diversity as the most problematic and ethnic diversity as the least problematic. Their perceptions of age diversity were ambiguous. 5 Study 3 was a quantitative study conducted in Warsaw, and examined the effects of perceived social diversity on neighbourhood attachment, while accounting for measures of objective diversity. It demonstrated that perceived ethnic diversity was positively related to neighbourhood attachment, and this link was mediated by the emotion of excitement. Perceived income diversity undermined attachment regardless of the neighbourhood ties, and this effect was not mediated by affective appraisals. Perceived age diversity was related to lower neighbourhood attachment only for individuals who had few ties with neighbours of different ages. Perceived age diversity was also related to the emotion of excitement, but its direct effect on attachment was negative, thus confirming the ambivalent meaning of this type of diversity. Overall, this thesis contributes to the literature on consequences of social diversity by revealing that different dimensions of diversity may have different implications for neighbourhood attachment and possibly social cohesion in general. It highlights the role of intergroup ties in moderating the effects of both objective and perceived diversity, but also shows that it is worth thinking about the positive emotions that social diversity in the environment may trigger. The latter is a novel perspective given the empirical findings demonstrating that ethnic diversity has negative consequences for individuals

The bright and dark sides of length of residence in the neighbourhood: Consequences for local participation and openness to newcomers

Length of residence in a neighborhood has been shown to have positive outcomes for local participation. However, long-term residency can also make people less welcoming of potential newcomers. In two nationwide surveys among the Dutch (Study 1) and Brits (Study 2) we examined these bright and dark sides of length of residence in the neighbourhood, and we considered two underlying mechanisms: place attachment and perceived group entitlements. In Study 1, we measured entitlements in terms of autochthony beliefs (first-comers in places are generally entitled) and in Study 2 we more directly assessed the sense that the residents own the neighborhood (collective psychological ownership, CPO). In both studies we found that more established residents were more attached to the neighborhood and perceived more entitlements. Place attachment was conducive to stronger local participation, and did not form a barrier (Study 1) or it even served as a bridge (Study 2) for openness to newcomers. In contrast, perceived entitlements were linked to less openness to international newcomers in both studies, but more openness to natives moving in from other regions of the country (Study 2). This indicates that at a local level, perceived entitlements to a given place are more strongly related to exclusion based on ethnicity of the newcomers than solely on later arrival. Entitlements in the form of CPO, however, motivated local participation and thus also had a bright side

The bright and dark sides of length of residence in the neighbourhood: Consequences for local participation and openness to newcomers

Length of residence in a neighborhood has been shown to have positive outcomes for local participation. However, long-term residency can also make people less welcoming of potential newcomers. In two nationwide surveys among the Dutch (Study 1) and Brits (Study 2) we examined these bright and dark sides of length of residence in the neighbourhood, and we considered two underlying mechanisms: place attachment and perceived group entitlements. In Study 1, we measured entitlements in terms of autochthony beliefs (first-comers in places are generally entitled) and in Study 2 we more directly assessed the sense that the residents own the neighborhood (collective psychological ownership, CPO). In both studies we found that more established residents were more attached to the neighborhood and perceived more entitlements. Place attachment was conducive to stronger local participation, and did not form a barrier (Study 1) or it even served as a bridge (Study 2) for openness to newcomers. In contrast, perceived entitlements were linked to less openness to international newcomers in both studies, but more openness to natives moving in from other regions of the country (Study 2). This indicates that at a local level, perceived entitlements to a given place are more strongly related to exclusion based on ethnicity of the newcomers than solely on later arrival. Entitlements in the form of CPO, however, motivated local participation and thus also had a bright side