ABSTRACT
From the mid-1960s onwards, most European countries have received substantial immigration flows from outside Europe. Triggered initially by economic factors, these flows did not cease once the economic imperatives were gone, instead they continued, driven by other factors which came to the fore. This chapter examines segregation in the ethnic domain, focusing on Amsterdam and its surrounding area. It describes the patterns and discusses the relevant dimensions in order to understand these, particularly the 'problematisation' of immigration and segregation, by both politicians and the general public. Publications on international migration reveal that an increasing share of immigrants arriving in the Netherlands settles in the largest cities. In the 1970s the proportion of non-Dutch immigrants settling in the four largest Dutch cities was some thirty per cent. Several dominant types of international migration can be distinguished. These were mostly determined by one of several factors: colonial relationships; need for supplementary labour; family reunification and formation; and global economic and political shifts.
