Public Housing and Residential Segregation of Immigrants in France, 1968-1999

This paper studies the evolution of the residential segregation of immigrants between and within urban areas in France from 1968 to 1999 using census data. During this period, European and non-European immigrant segregation followed diverging trends. This paper documents the large increase in public housing participation rates of non-European immigrants after 1980 and highlights how public housing participation is related to contemporary segregation. At the macro-geographical level, results indicate a decrease in the concentration of immigrants across urban areas, showing a lower concentration of non-European immigrants living in public housing across urban areas. Within cities, national origin segregation was predominant until 1968 for all groups and declined afterward, particularly for European immigrants. For non-European immigrants participating in public housing, the decline in segregation by national origin has been counterbalanced by an increase in regional segregation. Immigrants of different national origins have increasingly clustered in the same public housing neighborhoods. In 1999, immigrants in public housing experienced higher segregation levels than immigrants in private housing, particularly non-European immigrants. I find no relationship between differences in average arrival year and differences in segregation levels across immigrant groups.