Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Stadt- und Regionalsoziologie

Montag, 15.06.2015

Dr. Christine Barwick, SciencesPo Paris

Upward mobility and neighborhood choice: Turkish-Germans in Berlin

Cities all over the world are increasingly becoming super diverse, due to immigration. Studies on urban change, however, mostly focus on white middle classes and disregard ethnic minorities as actors in the processes of urban change. I will move beyond this limitation by analyzing upward mobility, residential choice and its consequences of Turkish-Germans in Berlin. Particularly, I will focus on the Turkish-Germans access to and provision of resources. We will see that daily practices and networks are as, if not more, important for the flow of resources as the place of residence. Through providing and accessing resources, the Turkish-Germans do not only connect neighborhoods of different socioeconomic statuses, but also connect to people with diverse social and ethnic backgrounds. Upwardly mobile ethnic minorities may thus be brokers for social and ethnic mix, which emerges, however, not primarily by sharing the same neighborhood, but through daily practices and networks.