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HOUSINGAND INTEGRATIONINTHE CITYOF ,

AyeÖzbabacan

1 MigrantsinStuttgart

ThecityofStuttgartislocatedinthesouthernGermanyandisthecapitalofthe federalstateofWürttemberg.Thankstoitsimmigrants,formanyyearsStutt garthasmaintaineditspopulationof593,000inhabitantsandistodayGermany’ssixth largest city. Particularly with its automotive and computer industry, Stuttgart repre sentsoneofthestrongestindustrialregionsinGermany.CompaniessuchasDaimler, Porsche, Bosch, HewlettPackard, IBM and almost 45% of BadenWürttemberg’s researchanddevelopmentcapacitieshaveallsettledintheStuttgartregion.Inaddi tion,thecityisoneofGermany’stopeducationallocationsandiswellknownashav ingaveryhighqualityoflife.Thegrossdomesticproductin2006wasEUR35.774 billion.TheunemploymentrateinJune2009wasalow6.6%. Sincethemid1950sStuttgarthasattractedalargenumberofpeoplefromallover theworld,inparticular“guestworkers”( Gastarbeiter )fromsouthernEuropeancoun triessuchasGreece,Italy,Spain,Portugal,andTurkey.Soon,however,asearlyasthe 1970s, it became apparent that Stuttgart’s migrant workers were not, as previously expected,goingtoreturntotheirnativecountries,butwereinfactremaininginStutt gartandbringingtheirfamiliestolivewiththem.Attheendofthe1980s,anewphase ofmigrationhistorybeganwiththefalloftheIronCurtain.Alargenumberofimmi grants from the Eastern European countries came to Germany, among them many ethnic,thesocalled Spätaussiedler, butalsoalargegroupofpersonsseek ing asylum as well as refugees from the Balkan crisis in the early 1990s. In recent years,Stuttgart’smigrantshavehadmoreeconomicthanpoliticalreasonsformigrat ingtothiscity. AsinmostGermancities,theintegrationofmigrantsinStuttgarthastakenplace primarily by opening up the core institutions, such as the education system and the labour market, and by including the migrants in the welfare system. In addition, a multilayeredsystemofprogramsandprojectssupportingintegrationwasdeveloped overtheyears.Foralongtime,however,therehasbeennowiderangingintegration 82 Integration Policies at the Local Level: Housing Policies for Migrants

strategy forintegratingsuch“foreigners”.Onlyinthe21 st centuryhasGermanyintro ducedamoreopencitizenshiplaw(2000)andadoptedan Immigration Act (2005) 16 that acknowledges the importance of a comprehensive integration strategy.Moreover, sincethentwointegrationsummitshavebeenheldtoaddressawiderangeofintegration policyissuesincludinglanguagecompetency,educationandurbanplanning,withthe aimofhelpingthegovernmentdevelopacomprehensivepolicyforimmigration.The outcomeoftheSummitculminatedinthe National Integration Plan (2007) 17 ,which includedmorethan400measuresandvoluntarycommitmentsrelatingtointegration developed by the German Government together with the federal states (Länder) and localauthorities,associationsofmigrants,andnumerousothernongovernmentplayers.

2 StuttgartPactforIntegration

TodayStuttgartisatrulyinternationalcity.Nearlyaquarter(22%)ofthepopula tionconsistsofforeigners(i.e.,peoplewithoutaGermanpassport).Therealpictureof cultural diversity, however,isevengreater,sincemanyimmigrantshavesincebeen naturalizedandarenowstatisticallycountedasGermans:Around40%ofthepopula tionhasamigrationbackground(peoplewithanonGermancitizenship,naturalized Germans,ethnicGermans,andchildrenwithatleastoneparentwithmigrationback ground) 18 .Peoplecomefrommorethan170nationsandrepresent120linguisticand culturaltraditions.Oftheforeignpopulation,theTurkishcitizensmakeupthelargest migrantgroup,followedbypeoplefromItaly,Greece,,andMontene groandethnicGermansfromtheformerSovietUnion. Thepopulationwithamigrationbackgroundisconstantlyincreasing.Todaymore thanhalfofthechildrenlivinginStuttgarthaveamigrationbackground.Accordingto demographic predictions, in the year 2030 this figure will lie at about 50% of the peoplelivinginStuttgart.ThismeansthatStuttgartwillbecomeevenmoreinterna tionalandmoreinterculturaloverthenextdecadeandhastodealwithdemographic change,lowerbirthrates,andtheoverallageingofthepopulation.Thisisachallenge butalsoachancetoadapttochangingcircumstances. Sincetheturnofthenewmillennium,thecityofStuttgarthasexplicitlyconsidered immigration as something normal and desirable for the development of the region. Thelargepercentageofpeoplewithamigrationbackgroundisseenasabenefitand

16 See:http://www.bundesregierung.de/Webs/Breg/DE/Bundesregierung/Beauftragtefuer Integration/Einbuergerung/einbuergerung.html;Zuwanderungskommission2001. 17 See:http://www.bundesregierung.de/nn_245708/Content/EN/StatischeSeiten/Schwerpunk te/Integration/kasten1dernationaleintegrationsplan.html 18 Mikrozensus2005,see:http://www.destatis.de/jetspeed/portal/cms/Sites/destatis/Internet/ DE/Presse/pk/2006/Mikrozensus/Pressebroschuere,property=file.pdf Housing and Integration in the City of Stuttgart, Germany 83

resourceforthecityasawhole.Thus,thecitycommitteditselftopromotingsocial andculturalintegration,andtoassuringequalopportunitiestoallofitsinhabitantsin centralareas,suchasaccesstoeducation,work,healthcare,housing,politicalpartici pation, and recreation. Consequently, the municipal integration policy has been re orientatedtowarda resourceapproach . In 2001, the city council adoptedacomprehensiveintegrationpolicyconceptin theformofa“PactforIntegration ”19 topromoteparticipationandequalopportuni tiesforeveryone,peacefulcohabitationandsocialcohesion,andthecapitalisationof cultural diversity to extend competences within the international municipal society. Thispact,developedinatopdownprocess,isacoalitionbetweenthepublicsector (politics and administration), the private sector (special interest groups and busi nesses),andcivilsociety(associations,sportclubs,communitygroups,andNGOs). Hence, this coalition consists of partners strongly committed to integration and alignedinnetworkstructures.AccordingtothePactforIntegration, integration hasto beunderstoodastheactivecreationofacommonbasisformutualunderstandingand henceasatwowayprocess.Thepreconditionforthisistheabilityandthewillingness of both the migrant and native population to follow this course. Consequently, the targetgroupsofthemunicipalintegrationpolicyarenewlyarrivedimmigrants,long establishedimmigrants,aswellastheautochthonouspopulation. Followingthisapproach,MayorWolfgangSchustermadeintegrationpolicyatop priorityandestablishedthe DepartmentforIntegrationPolicy .Thedepartmentis directlyresponsibletotheMayorandhasacentralcoordinatingfunction.Itsupports andconnectsmunicipalandnonmunicipalbodiesthatcarryoutintegrationanddiver sity measures in their own rights. The aim is the establishment of integration as a crossdepartmentaltaskandresponsibility.Tosupportthisaim,anInternationalCom mittee was set up which is charged with counselling the municipal council and the administration concerning all matters of integration and diversity. The committeeis madeupof13membersfromthemunicipalcounciland12informedimmigrantresi dentschosenonsuggestionsmadebytheMayor. Toachievethecentralgoalsofthe“PactforIntegration”,12differentinterrelated fields of action were formulated andaresystematicallybeingimplemented byinte grationpromoting strategies and measures organised and offered in cooperation withothermunicipalbodiessuchasschoolsandNGOs(LandeshauptstadtStuttgart, StabsabteilungfürIntegrationspolitik2007): 1. Supportfornewlyarrivedandestablishedmigrants 2. Languageandeducationsupportinpreschooleducation 3. Equalopportunitiesinschoolsandineducation 4. Integrationintheworkplace 5. Puttingintegrationpoliciesattheheartofthecityinstitutions

19 Schuster2001;see:http://www.stuttgart.de/img/mdb/publ/9509/3813.pdf. 84 Integration Policies at the Local Level: Housing Policies for Migrants

6. Integrationandparticipationwithintheneighbourhoods 7. Urbanplanningandhousingpoliciesforintegration 8. Interculturalandinternationalorientation 9. StuttgartPartnershipforSafetyandSecurity 10. Interreligiousdialogue 11. Politicalparticipation 12. Publicawareness Thesemeasuresarenotonlyaimedatmigrants,butattheGermansocietyaswell. However, the measures offered to the migrants have to focus on the needs of mi grants ,cover interculturalandcrossnationaloffers, andinStuttgartinparticular focusonthe qualityofoffers inordertobesuccessful.Theinterculturalopeningof municipal services and the employment of staff with migration background are key taskstoensuretheinterculturalcompetenceofthecityadministrationanddealprofes sionallywithculturaldiversity.Currently,thecityisdevelopingamonitoringsystem focused on measurable outcomes – indicators to gain data on imbalances between migrantsandnonmigrants. ThePactfoundnationalandinternationalrecognitionin2003,whenthecitywas awarded the “Cities for PeacePrize”withhonourablementionbytheUNESCO.In 2004, the European Council adopted key pointsofthepactasitsofficialpolicyon integration.Inaddition,Stuttgartwonthecompetitionforsuccessfulintegrationpoli cies,initiatedbytheMinistryoftheInteriorandtheBertelsmannFoundationin2005 andisnowknownasanationalmodelofintegrationpolicy. Theseawardsshowthatthenecessaryprocessofintegrationisa“learningprocess”. Consequently, it is very important to learn from the experiences of other cities and countriesinEurope.ThecityofStuttgart,togetherwiththeEuropeanFoundationfor theImprovementforBetterLivingandWorkingConditionsandtheCongressofLo calandRegionalAuthoritiesoftheCouncilofEurope,in2006establishedtheEuro pean cities network CLIP 20 “Cities for Local Integration Policies of Migrants”. The networkaimstobringtogetherEuropeancitiesinajointlearningprocesstoengagein anexchangeofinformationandexperiencesconcerningtheintegrationandparticipa tionofimmigrantsoverseveralyears.Thegoalistoenablelocalauthoritiestolearn fromeachotherandtodeliveramoreeffectiveintegrationpolicyforimmigrants. Because housing plays a central role in the overall integration of migrants as a relevantissueoflifequalityingeneral,thecityparticipatedinthefirstCLIPmodule onhousingandsegregation.Thiswasanopportunityforthecitytoevaluatetheim pact of the overall strategy in particular with regard to the housing situationofmi grantsinStuttgart.Theaimwastoinvestinurbanplanningandhousingpoliciesto avoidmonoethnicresidentialareasandtoreducespatialsegregation,thatis,promote

20 See:http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/areas/populationandsociety/clip.htm. Housing and Integration in the City of Stuttgart, Germany 85

mixedpopulation structureswithintheneighbourhoodsandgoodlivingstandardsfor itsinhabitantsinordertoassuresocialcohesion.21

3 HousingStockandHousingMarketinStuttgart

Stuttgart’sinnercityislocatedinabasinsurroundedbyslopesonthreesides.They openonlytowardtheriverNeckar,intheNortheast.Thisfacthassignificantimpact onthehousingmarket.Realestatepricesandrentsare,becauseofthesetopographical restrictions, very high. The best addresses are located nearer the top of the slopes, especiallyintheSouth. Stuttgartcurrentlyhasabout300,000residences,28%ofwhichareproprietaryand 72%forrentalpurposes.14%ofallresidencesbelongtoformerpublicutilityhousing enterprises,6%toStuttgart’shousingsocietySWSG,and0.3%isselfowned. BecauseofthecrampedStuttgart“bowl”,bothconstructionandhousinginStutt garthavetraditionallybeenratherdifficultmatters.Thepersistentexcessdemandand lackofcheaprealestateleadtopremiumpricesandconsiderableeffectsontheaver agesizeoflivingarrangements.ItismoredifficultinStuttgartthaninothercompara blecitiesinGermanytogainaccesstobothhighqualityandaffordablehousing.

3.1 HousingSituationofResidentswithaMigrationBackground

Fewreliabledataexistonthehousingsituationofpeoplewithamigrationback ground:TheOfficeofStatisticsdoesnotdifferentiatebetweennationalitiesoraccord ing to migrant status since migrants are included into the German welfare system. However,somepopulationgroups,especiallymigrants,clearlysuffermorethanoth ersdofromthehousingmarketandhighrents. ComparedtoGermans,migrantshave,onaverage,lessincomeattheirdisposalto financeadequatehousing.Migrantsalsomorelosetheirjobbecauseoftheirlowedu cationalstandards;theyliveinsmallerhousingandhavelesslivingspacepercapitaat their disposal than nonmigrants. Migrants tend to concentrate in districts that are structurallyhandicappedandcharacterised,forexample,bycriminalityorpoorphysi calinfrastructure,wherehousingshortagesoccurorwhereseveralhouseholdshaveto shareonehousingunit.Anotherindicatorwasnotedinaqualitativesurveyofadoles centsandwomenwithmigrationbackgroundconductedbytheUniversityofStuttgart: Theintervieweesreportedexperiencingdiscriminationandprejudiceonthepartofthe ownersregardingaccesstohousing,forexample,whenaforeignnameisgivenover

21 Bosswick,Heckmann&LükenKlaßen2007;LükenKlaßen2007;see http://www.stuttgart.de/integrationspolitik. 86 Integration Policies at the Local Level: Housing Policies for Migrants

thephone,manyadvertisedapartmentsaresuddenly“alreadylet”.Discriminationand stigmatisationareespeciallyactiveintodistrictswithanegativeimage.

3.2 SpatialConcentrationofResidentswithaMigration Background

ThenonGermanpopulationisspreadacrossStuttgart’sentireurbanarea.Inthe innercityandtheouternorthernandeasterndistricts,characterisedbyindustry,the numberofcitizenswithoutaGermanpassportishigherthantheaverageinthecity andwellaboveaveragesinotherdistricts.Thespecificdistrictsareand FeuerbachintheNorthandBadCannstattintheNortheast,WangenandUntertürk heimintheeasternpartofthecity,andthecentraldistrictsMitte,Nord,Süd,andOst. Inthesedistrictsonecanalsofindahigherconcentrationofeconomicallydisadvan tagedGermanpopulationgroups.Severalquartersindistrictswithahighpercentage offoreignersareacutelyaffectedbypoverty:Anaboveaveragerateofpeopleison welfaresupport.Migrationspecificsegregationandpovertysegregationcorrelate. Ifwelookatsegregationnotonthelevelofcitydistricts,butratheronthesmaller scaleofthecityblocks,amoredifferentiatedpictureappears:Mainlyintheabove mentioneddistrictsaretheresomecityblocksandstreetswheretheshareofthefor eignpopulationisevenhigherthan50%,whichhasnegativeimplicationsforallother aspectsoflife.Especiallywomenandadolescentswithamigrationbackgroundspend mostoftheirsparetimewithintheirowncityquarterandwithinhomogeneousnon Germannetworks.Theseconditionsfosterproblemssuchas“doublesemilingualism”. However,theethnicsegregationoftheproportionatelylargemigrantgroupssuch asTurks,Italians,Greeks,andcitizensfromformerYugoslaviahasfallensince1980. Hence,thehousinglocationsofthenonGermanpopulationhaveslowlyspreadover theentireurbanarea.Thereispresentlynoconcentrationofsingleethnicgroupsin Stuttgart,butratheraconcentrationofmigrantsofallnationalitiessimilarlydistrib utedthroughoutthecity.

4 PoliciestoImproveAccesstoHousingfor MigrantsandtoAvoidSegregation

4.1 HousingAllowancesandSubsidisedPublicHousing

InGermanythelocalhousingsituationisgreatlyinfluencedbynationalpolicies. Twopublicmeasuresexistthataimatsupportingthosehouseholdsidentifiedbythe governmentasbeingmostaffectedbyexclusion:The housingallowance isfinanced byfederalandstategovernmentsandispaidtolowincomehouseholdsasatopup paymentforthecostofhousingtoprovidedecenthousingbyfacilitatingaccessto Housing and Integration in the City of Stuttgart, Germany 87

Map12: ForeignersinStuttgart’sMunicipalDistricts,2005

Source:LandeshauptstadtStuttgart,StatistischesAmt. accommodation. Whether a household can apply for a housing allowance and how muchitcanapplyforasasubsidytotherentormortgageforhouseownersdependson thesizeofthehousehold,thefamilyincome,andtherentorcostspaidbytheappli 88 Integration Policies at the Local Level: Housing Policies for Migrants

cants. Because foreigners areincludedintheGermansystemofwelfare,theyhave thesamelegalrightstoapplyforahousingallowanceasGermansdo,providedthey arelivinglegallyandpermanentlyinGermany.AccordingtothenewResidenceAct, permanentresidenceisgenerallyassumediftheforeignerisgivenaresidencepermit validformorethanoneyearorhasheldaresidencepermitformorethan18months, unlessthestayisonlyofatemporarynature.Thismeansforeignstudentsandseasonal workerscouldbeexcludedfrompublichousing,whereasrefugeesandpersonsseek ingasylumcanbelodgedinstateownedflats. The public housing market is regulated by the Housing Assistance Act. This makestheconstructionofnewbuildings,therenovationofexistingbuildings,andthe acquisitionofoccupyingrightseligibleforpublicfunding.Itaimsprimarilyatprovid ingspecialtargetgroupswithproperhousing.Householdsunable,forreasonsofin comeorhouseholdsize,tosupplythemselveswithappropriatelivingspaceareeligi bletoregisterattheOfficeofHousingandRealEstatetoreceiveaplacetostay.This procurementrequiresahousingauthorisationpermit(Wohnberechtigungsschein),and theapplicanthastohavelivedorworkedinStuttgartforatleast3years.Tocoverthe demand for such applicants, the office has 17,300 apartments at its disposal, corre spondingto6%oftheentirehousingstockinthecity.Stuttgart’shousingcompanies receive allocation recommendations for empty apartments from which they may choosefuturetenants.Thewaitingperiodfromthetimeofregistrationtofinallyre ceivinganapartmentisgenerally6to19months. Inaddition,thereareseveralprogramstoeasetheaccesstothehousingmarketby subsidisingtheconstructionofpublichousing.Socialapartmentbuildingsarefunded bylowinterestloansviathestate’slivingspacedevelopmentprogram,whichitselfis fundedhalfandhalfbytherespectivestateandthefederalgovernment.Also,thecity supports these buildings by way of pricereduced property, cheap loans and grants, anditsubsidisesrentsforupto20years.Inthiswaythecityimprovesthechancesfor persons with low income, regardless of their background, to get affordable public housing. Neither program is aimed at migrants in particular. Nevertheless, a more relaxedhousingmarketfacilitatesaccesstohousingformigrantstoo.Forthisreason theyalsoindirectlyprofitfromsuchhousingprograms,forexample,throughthe Fam ilyBuildingProgram, whichoffersfamilieswithchildrenwhoseincomeliesbelowa certain limit funding and lowinterest loans when purchasing proprietary housing. Throughtheprogram Affordable Proprietary Housing (PreiswertesWohneigentum), affordable apartments can be built on reducedprice municipal real estate and later soldtofamilieswithchildren.Thisprogramisparticularlyattractiveforfamilieswith migrationbackground–andisoftenusedbythem.

4.2 UrbanRenewal

Stuttgartisintentonavoidingmonoethnicresidentialareasandsegregation.The mostimportantmeansofpreventingthisisurbanrenewalundertheauspicesofthe Housing and Integration in the City of Stuttgart, Germany 89

Office of Urban Planning and Renewal. The city invests in the quality of housing facilities,housingareas(includingcommunitycentresandpublicareas),andininfra structure (e.g., schools and public transport) in order to avoid the development of disadvantaged neighbourhoods – and to improve the image of already problematic quarters.Targetareasforurbanrenewalareprimarilythoseareasinwhichadispro portionate number of underprivileged and inadequately integrated households are situated. Quarters in which a disproportionately large number of migrants live are thereforeparticularlytakenintoaccount.

4.3 TheUrbanDevelopmentConceptSTEK

From2004to2006,theOfficeofUrbanPlanningandRenewaldevelopedtheso calledUrbanDevelopmentConcept( Stadtentwicklungskonzept-STEK )22 ,whichintro duced10goalstoactasguidelinesfordifferentfieldsofactivity.Oneofthesegoalsis the“AdvancementofSocialCohesionandIntegration”,basedonmutualrespectfor different cultures and participation of all groups in urban life. To this end the city created several sociopolitical and infrastructural measures: Besides social projects andprojectsinschools,certainculturaltraditionsarealsotobeconsideredinhousing construction.Preventivemeasuresliketheimprovementofhousingenvironments(to getherwiththeresidents)orbyofferingbetterrecreationalandsportactivitiesserveto avoidtheformationofsocialhotspots.

4.4 TheUrbanHousingCompanySWSG

Afurthermeasureforpromotingdecentaccesstohousingandreducingsegrega tionistheoccupancypolicyoftheurbanhousingcompanySWSG.Whenassigning theirdwellings,thecompanymustmeetcertainquotas:80%oftenantsinahousing blockshouldbefromtheEU,andamaximumof20%maybecitizensofothercoun tries. This guideline is meant to prevent ethnic segregation and simultaneouslypro mote social mixture. Because 50% of the rental contracts (60% actual tenants) are withnonGermancitizens(manyareTurkish)itis,inpractice,nearlyimpossiblefor theSWSGtofollowthisguideline;duetothetenantstructurethequotascannotbe fulfilled.Furthermore,althoughthisguidelineismeanttopreventethnicsegregation, itdoesnothingtostopsocialsegregation,whichisconsideredtobesignificantlymore problematic.Hence,theSWSGhasestablishedaspecialdepartmentfor “Social and Debt Management”,whichdealswithproblemsinhousing.Itoffers rent debtor coun- selling tohelptenantswithfinancialproblems,topreventevictions,insurethepay mentofrents,andtoestablishanewperspective.Bywayofconflictmanagementand

22 LandeshauptstadtStuttgart,AmtfürStadtplanungundStadterneuerung2004. 90 Integration Policies at the Local Level: Housing Policies for Migrants

mediation, it tries to improve overall housing satisfaction. A balance of interests amongvarioustenantsgroupslikefamilieswithchildren,seniorcitizens,ormigrants is meant to minimize rentrelated conflict. In cases of larger conflicts, roundtable meetingsarecalled.Athirdfieldofsocialworkaddressesrelationswithseniorsand persons with psychological and physical illness. These people and their relatives shouldbecounselledwithrespecttothearrangementoftheirhousingsituations,and shouldwhennecessarybeprovidedwithspecialisedassistanceorcare.

4.5 Program“SocialCity”

“SocialCity”(SozialeStadt) 23 isajointfederalandstateprogramestablishedin 1999withtheaimofcombatingtheincreasingpovertyandinequalityconnectedwith the emergence of particularly disadvantaged neighbourhoods in German cities. The program areas are selected in accordance with criteria such as unemployment rate, proportionofrecipientsofsocialwelfare,andofforeignersinaspecificneighbour hood.Between1999and2004thefederalgovernmentprovidedmorethan400mio. Euro financial aid. The Social City project is currently being implemented in five neighbourhoods(Rot,Freiberg,Mönchfeld,Fasanenhof,andHallschlag)inStuttgart. Inthesequartersthecityfollowsanintegrativeapproachwiththegoalofrenewing andsociallystabilisingurbanareas,promotinglocalidentityandinterculturalintegra tion, and strengthening thelocaleconomy.Theintentoftheprojectistheenduring renewal and stabilisation of city quarters by combining housing industry and urban constructiontaskswithsocialandjobmarketpolicyeffects.Theresidentcommunity andotherlocalactorsareallinvolvedandparticipateinallprojects.

4.6 House49

House49 isaninternationalneighbourhoodcentre 24 withprogramsandinforma tionforthecitizensofStuttgartwithvariousnationalandethnicorigins.Itisspon sored by Caritas , and employs five fulltime and various other volunteer workers. EventhoughitisopentoallcitizensofStuttgart,itisusedalmostexclusivelybypeo ple with a migration background. The main focus of the neighbourhood centre lies withchildrenandyouthservices.Anurseryschoolisofferedforyoungchildren.A dailyhomeworksupervisionprogramforsome70children,includingsportsandvari ousotheractivities,isalsoofferedbyvolunteerworkers,inclosecooperationwiththe schools. The program provides meals, holiday camps, excursions, games and other

23 TheprojectisfundedbyEuropeanSocialFund(ESF).See: http://www.sozialestadt.de/programm. 24 See:http://www.haus49.de. Housing and Integration in the City of Stuttgart, Germany 91

activities,languageinstruction,counsellingservices,andconflictmediation.Through education parties the centre tries to strengthen the involvement and participation of foreignparentsintheeducationandupbringingoftheirchildren:Inthestyleof“Tup perwareparties”40womenmetmonthlyfor2yearsinordertodiscusstopicsofedu cationandupbringinginanintimateenvironment.ButalsosportsgroupsandaMus limgroupusepremisesaswellaslocalseniorsforfamilyfestivities.Withitsopenand generationspanningapproachitisoneofthemostoftenvisitedinternationalneigh bourhoodcentresinStuttgart.

4.7 SecurityPartnership

TheStuttgartPoliceDepartmentandthecityofStuttgartcollaborateinasocalled “securitypartnership”topreventcrimeandensuresecurityinStuttgart.Basedonthe assumptionthatsecurityisnotsolelyapolicematter,butoneofthecommunityasa whole, the common initiative “Stuttgart Security Partnership” of the police and the citizenrywascreatedin1997.25 Thepartnershipfocusesonpreventingcrimebeforeit occurs. Therefore, security advisorycouncilsaswellasspeciallytrainedprevention policeofficerswereestablishedinalldistrictsofthecity.Thepartnershipcarriesout variousjuveniledelinquencyprograms,suchasviolenceanddrugabuseprevention. AppealingtoimmigrantsandnonGermancitizens,thepartnershipassumesthatsuc cessful crime preventionpresumesintegrationintothehostsociety.Thepartnership makesaconcertedefforttoinvolveMuslimcitizensintheirpreventionactivities.In 2005,thepartnershipsucceededinincorporatingrepresentativesofamosqueassocia tion into youth services in the Feuerbach district and thus provided them with the opportunitytoparticipateinthedevelopmentoftheirownneighbourhood.

5 Conclusion

Asarelevantissueoflifequalityingeneralhousingplaysacentralroleinoverall integration of immigrants. Housing policies directed at the housing situation of mi grantscanbothaffectthestructuralintegrationinthereceivingsocietysuchaslabour, education of immigrant children in ethnic concentrations or interethnic interactions, and relations, and are an important part of general social policy at the local level, whichhasastrongimpactonfutureprocessesofimmigrantintegration.Thus,housing isnotonlyanessentialsphereofpeople’severydaylife,butalsoameansfordifferent lifechances:Livinginacertaindistrictcanbeassociatedwithone’ssocioeconomic status,image,andlocalinfrastructure.Thishasaneffectonthewaypeopleareseen– eitherasintegralpartofthesocietyorasbelongingtosegregatedareas.

25 See:http://www.stuttgart.de/img/mdb/publ/15134/22585.pdf. 92 Integration Policies at the Local Level: Housing Policies for Migrants

Theintegrationofforeignerswas,until2001,confinedtolegalandwelfarepoli cies,withlittleconcernfordemographicdevelopmentsorforthesociospatialdimen sionoftheintegrationprocess.However,forsomeyearsnow,thecityofStuttgarthas been aware of the fact that the integration of migrants in particular with regard to housingatthelocallevelisanimportantfactorforthesocialcohesionofsociety.Its housing policy aims at mixed population structures within the neighbourhoods and goodlivingstandardsforitsinhabitantsinordertoensuresocialcohesion.Thus,pro vidingahighqualityinfrastructure(suchasschools,publictransportation,andleisure facilities)aswellasvolunteerworkareseenascrucialmeasuresforkeepingmiddle classfamilies(GermanandnonGerman)locatedaswellindisadvantagedneighbour hoods in order to promote a social mix and further integration.Therefore,Stuttgart developedthestrategicintegrationconcept Pact for Integration aswellasthe Urban Development Concept STEK, both of which consider positive intergroup relations amongallStuttgartersandsocialcohesionaswellassociospatialintegrationofmi grantstobeimportantgoals.Inordertoachievethesegoals,Stuttgartisimplementing a multitude of measures and successful projects such as the Social City Program. However,thecitylackssolidfundingandresourcesofthemunicipalitytostrengthen itsintegrationefforts,thatis,toexpandandachieveacertainsustainabilityandinstitu tionalisationofsuccessfulprojectsandthusremovebarriersforthefurtherintegration ofmigrantsinciviclife.

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