Living in the neighborhood (LiV) - A research project on neighborhood effects
Neighborhoods are important social spaces. Here is where people live together and encounter each other. Living together in neighborhoods is therefore a resource for social cohesion - beyond contemporary issues such as social inequality, cultural differences, and trends of political polarization. The neighborhood can also be seen as a space for integration, where immigrants and members of the majority society come into contact with each other, and everyday acquaintances and friendships are formed. At the same time, conflicts, experiences of discrimination, and exclusion may also occur, which in turn manifests ethnic division and social inequalities.
The "Leben im Viertel" (LiV) survey examines how structural, social, and norm-related characteristics of neighborhoods affect social cohesion and the integration of immigrants. The project focuses on social exchange processes and asks, for example, how perceived social control and social openness affect the integration of immigrants.
Design of the LiV survey
The LiV survey is designed as a longitudinal study with two survey waves. The first survey was fielded from mid-October 2022 to early January 2023 in a total of 40 neighborhoods in 10 major German cities.
Respondents who were contacted to participate in the survey were randomly selected from the registers of the population registration offices. We drew two samples: The first sample consists of immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries of origin. These include people with Afghan, Iraqi, Iranian, Pakistani, or Syrian citizenship. The second sample refers to the general population. It includes all persons with a German or other nationality, except for the nationalities defined for the first group.
A total of 2,283 respondents completed the questionnaire. Of these, 1,405 respondents belong to the general population sample (approx. 62%) and 878 respondents are from the predominantly Muslim countries of origin sample (approx. 38%).
Initial results
The first wave of the survey provides important insights into the perception of neighborhoods and the integration of immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries of origin in urban neighborhoods.
Satisfaction with the neighborhood
Overall, the perception of urban neighborhoods is positive. Three-quarters of respondents are somewhat or very satisfied with their neighborhood. However, respondents who live in poorer neighborhoods and surveyed immigrants are slightly less satisfied with their neighborhood on average.
Effects of the coronavirus pandemic on neighborhood cohesion
The coronavirus pandemic has had a serious impact on societies worldwide. However, the LiV survey shows that, fortunately, the coronavirus pandemic has not had a major impact on the perception of cohesion in the neighborhood. For the majority of respondents (61%), cohesion in the neighborhood has not changed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. 11% of respondents even see an improvement in social cohesion, while 27% perceive a deterioration in social cohesion as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Perceived discrimination
The surveyed immigrant respondents perceive discrimination significantly more often than respondents from the general population. While around 55% of respondents from the general population state that they have experienced discrimination, three-quarters (75%) of immigrants have. This large difference is mainly due to the fact that immigrants are more frequently affected by discrimination based on ethnic background and religious affiliation.
Projektteam
Conrad Ziller
PD Dr. Conrad Ziller heads the LiV project. He is Akademischer Rat (eq. tenured Assistant Professor) at the Department of Political Science at the University of Duisburg-Essen and a member of the working group of Empirical Political Science.
Teresa Hummler
Teresa Hummler M.A. is a research associate in the LiV project. She is doing her doctorate at the University of Duisburg-Essen on the influence of local contexts on the political attitudes of immigrants. She is a member of the working group of Empirical Political Science.
Publications
Ziller, Conrad & Hummler, Teresa (2024): Integration und Zusammenhalt in Nachbarschaften deutscher Großstädte -Ergebnisse der ersten Befragungswelle der Umfrage „Leben im Viertel“ (LiV).
Hummler, Teresa (2023): Nachbarschaften als Integrationsräume – Erste Ergebnisse der Umfrage „Leben im Viertel“ (LiV), Blog-Artikel, https://www.politik-wissenschaft.org/2023/10/30/nachbarschaften-als-integrationsraume/.