Interethnic contact of Turkish people in three Rotterdam neighbourhoods

Abstract

This master thesis is about the interethnic contact of ethnic minorities in the four largest cities of the Netherlands, and people from a Turkish background in three Rotterdam neighbourhoods especially. Segregation is often believed to hamper interethnic contact or even to isolate minorities from mainstream society. There is indeed a hampering effect of ethnic concentration in a neighbourhood on the amount of contact people have with native Dutch people. However, this effect is relatively small compared to the effect of speaking Dutch well and having a relatively high education. Although people living in concentration areas tend to have less contact with native Dutch people, living in a concentration area does in most cases not isolate people from the host society. Even if one does have no native Dutch contacts in the neighbourhood, people often meet Dutch people elsewhere, especially at work. This counts somewhat less for youngsters growing up in a concentration area, as schools in these areas tend to be rather segregated, sometimes even more segregated than the actual neighbourhood itself. Segregation does not directly influence in how far minorities feel comfortable around native Dutch people, or in how far they base part of their identity on feeling Dutch. There is a strong influence on these factors from the amount of contact people have with native Dutch though. People that spend more time with native Dutch, feel more comfortable around them and are more likely to base part of their identity on feeling Dutch.