Interethnic attitudes in urban neighbourhoods: The impact of neighbourhood disorder and decline

Abstract

Previous studies of the relationship between interethnic attitudes and the ethnic composition of neighbourhoods have overlooked the impact of neighbourhood problems in ethnically concentrated neighbourhoods. This paper examines the influence of neighbourhood disorder and decline (i.e. increasing disorder) on interethnic attitudes, controlling for the ethnic composition of the neighbourhood. Neighbourhood disorder and decline are measured by indicators of social and physical neighbourhood problems. Additionally, we examine the extent to which the impact of (increasing) disorder on interethnic attitudes depends on the particular ethnic composition of the neighbourhood. Using a geocoded data set covering 1435 neighbourhoods in The Netherlands, we analyse interethnic attitudes among four ethnic minority groups and the native Dutch population. Multilevel analyses show that for both ethnic minority and native Dutch residents neighbourhood decline is associated with negative attitudes towards ethnic minority groups, particularly in neighbourhoods with many ethnic minority residents.