Ghetto List (Denmark)

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Typical block of houses in the Vollsmose district of Odense - classified as a “hard ghetto” by the Danish government

In the so-called ghetto list ( Danish list over ghettoområder , list of ghetto areas' ), the Ministry of Transport, Construction and Housing of the Danish government lists districts that are characterized by social housing , a low socio-economic status, a relatively high crime rate and a high proportion of immigrants Marked are.

In Denmark, the immigration and integration debate has received more attention since the late 20th century. In 2004 the Danish government passed an official “ghetto strategy” for the first time. In 2010, as part of a 32-point plan, official criteria for Danish “ ghettos ” were set and a list of 29 residential areas that met these criteria was drawn up. This list has been updated annually since then.

In order to improve the situation in the areas, the so-called “Ghetto Law” has been in force since 2019, which includes special laws including resettlement.

In December 2019, 28 residential areas were declared as “ghettos”, including 15 as “hard ghettos”. 40 residential areas were declared as “endangered areas”. The number of areas on the list has decreased in recent years, mostly because crime has dropped.

criteria

Criteria from 2010

In the first official ghetto list from 2010, the Ministry of Social Affairs identified the areas on the basis of three criteria. A ghetto was therefore an area with at least 1,000 inhabitants that met two of these three criteria:

  • Over 40 percent of 18- to 64-year-olds are neither employed nor in training or studying (average of the last four years)
  • Over 2.7 percent of adults convicted according to the penal code, weapons law or narcotics law (average of the last four years)
  • Over 50 percent of the residents are immigrants or their descendants from non- western countries

Criteria from 2014

From 2014, criteria expanded to include education and income factors. A residential area now appeared on the ghetto list if it has at least 1,000 residents and meets three of the following five criteria:

  • Over 40 percent of 18 to 64 year olds are neither employed nor in training (average of the last two years)
  • Over 2.7 percent of adults convicted according to the penal code, weapons law or narcotics law (average of the last two years)
  • Over 50 percent of 30 to 59 year olds only have a primary school education (in Denmark 1st to 9th grade)
  • Average gross income of taxpayers (excluding trainees and students) between the ages of 15 and 64 is less than 55 percent of the average for the same group in the region
  • Over 50 percent of the residents are immigrants or their descendants from non-western countries

Criteria from 2018

background

In his New Year's speech on January 1, 2018, Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen announced the liquidation of the “ghettos”. This should be done by demolishing some buildings and relocating residents to other areas.

Negotiations on this matter have therefore become an important political issue. At the same time, crime in these areas, as in the rest of the country, declined, so that at the beginning of 2018 only two of the 22 “ghettos” listed met the crime criterion. A year earlier it was 25 out of 29.

In 2018, among other things, the government was criticized for using outdated figures when calculating the level of education. This was due to the fact that immigrants were classified in the “primary school only” category if they had not completed any schooling in Denmark. School education in their home country was therefore not included. According to surveys by Danmarks Statistics and the Rockwool Foundation in 2017, the number of “ghettos” would be halved using current data.

The educational criterion has now been redefined. Now only Danish primary education was officially taken into account, but the threshold was raised to 60 percent.

Furthermore, the areas were divided into “endangered areas” ( Danish udsatte områder ) and “ghetto areas” ( Danish ghettoområder ). Under the “ghetto areas”, “hard ghetto areas” ( Danish hårde ghettoområder ) were also declared.

Current criteria

"Endangered areas" are residential areas with over 1000 residents who meet at least two of the following criteria. “Ghetto areas” are residential areas in which more than 50 percent of the residents are also immigrants from non-western countries and their descendants. Areas that have been on the "ghetto list" for five years are considered "hard ghetto areas":

  • Over 40 percent of 18 to 64 year olds are neither employed nor in training (average of the last two years)
  • The proportion of residents who have been convicted under the Criminal Code, Weapons Act or Narcotics Act is more than three times the national average (average over the last two years)
  • Over 60 percent of 30 to 59 year olds only have a primary school education (in Denmark: 1st to 9th grade)
  • Average gross income of taxpayers (excluding trainees and students) between the ages of 15 and 64 is less than 55 percent of the average for the same group in the region

Problems and possible solutions

unemployment

Studies from comparable residential areas, including in Liverpool, have shown that unemployment has a strong influence on the development of the residential area. There are two reasons for this:

  1. low or no income
  2. Lack of meaningful daytime activity

This sometimes leads to

  • Crime to make money
  • Vandalism or violence out of desperation

These developments are amplified by the formation of bands.

Immigration

In the Danish integration debate, fear of parallel societies due to a high proportion of migrants is often expressed, especially in connection with non-Western immigrants. Therefore this is taken into account in the criteria.

Possible solutions

Scientists and politicians have suggested different ways to solve or alleviate problems in these areas.

32 point plan

In connection with the first list in 2010, the government published a 32-point plan, which was broken down into the following five areas.

  1. Creating more attractive residential areas that can break through the isolation
  2. Better balance in the composition of the residents
  3. More efforts for children and teenagers
  4. Moving away from social welfare, which keeps residents away from the labor market
  5. Combating social fraud and crime

Ghetto plan

In order to improve the situation in the areas, the conservative Rasmussen government passed the “Ghetto Law” in 2018 as part of its “Ghetto Plan”, which has been in force since 2019. The Social Democrats were opposed in 2018 still against this "ghetto plan" him but took over since coming to power in 2019. He provides, inter alia, that children mandatory minimum of 25 hours a week from the so-called "ghetto" Kita visit to Danish language , values and learn culture. In the event of non-compliance, the social assistance will be reduced. Furthermore, a double penalty can be imposed for theft and vandalism in “ghettos”. For areas that have been on the ghetto list for 5 years (“hard ghettos”), the demolition of social housing and the resettlement of their residents is provided by law.

Reactions from the cities

In order to influence the categorization of a district, some cities began to deliberately persuade residents to move. In Odense, for example, in 2019 the city council decided that convicted criminals would receive 15,000 kronor to help them move if they move out of a listed area. The background to this was that the city risked having to demolish apartment blocks if it couldn't reduce the percentage.

With a similar action, it had previously been possible in Aarhus to transfer an area to a lower category. There, however, social welfare recipients were supported by a housing association, as the unemployment rate was 41%, just above the 40% limit. They received up to 50,000 kronor for moving out of the Skovgårdsparken area in Brabrand . After hoping that about ten people would move, 18 people finally got in touch, all of whom received support.

criticism

The following important information is missing from this article or section: Help Wikipedia by researching and pasting it .

The term “ghetto” has been classified as stigmatizing by some. In 2010, three police chiefs expressed concern about this.

The director of the housing association "Brabrand Boligorening" said that while an investigation into social problems makes sense, the term "ghetto" is absurd and unwise.

Likewise, during a visit to Denmark, French sociology professor Loïc Wacquant said that the ghetto lists were stigmatizing and devastating as they would lead to well-educated people moving away. The weakest and sick would be left with the criminals.

In August 2019, Housing Minister Kaare Dybvad said that the term “ghetto” was to be dispensed with due to the previous pollution caused by the Warsaw ghetto and the television series The Wire . As of December 2019, however, the term is still used.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Regeringen Anders Fogh Rasmussen I (Ed.): Regeringens strategi mod ghettoisering . 2004 (Danish, stm.dk [PDF]).
  2. ↑ a b List over særligt udsatte boligområder pr. October 2010. Trafikstyrelsen, January 30, 2014, accessed on December 4, 2019 (Danish).
  3. ↑ Løkke med nyt mål: Ghettoer shall be afvikles. Accessed December 4, 2019 (da-DK).
  4. ↑ Færre kriminelle i ghettoerne - TV February 2, 12, 2018, accessed on December 4, 2019 (da-DK).
  5. ↑ Ghetto list kunne have været halveret med opdaterede tal. January 18, 2018, accessed December 4, 2019 .
  6. ↑ criticism af brisk ringens ghetto list: Bygger på gamle valley. January 19, 2018, accessed December 4, 2019 (Danish).
  7. ↑ 13 ud af 25 boligområder uretmæssigt udhængt. Retrieved December 4, 2019 (Danish).
  8. ↑ a b Ny ghetto list. Retrieved December 4, 2019 (Danish).
  9. ↑ Magnussen, p. 178; Bech Jørgensen, p. 88
  10. ↑ Bech Jørgensen, pp. 88, 91
  11. ↑ Sebastian Stryhn Kjeldtoft EmailTwitter: Vi taler og taler og taler om parallelsamfund - men vi ved ikke, hvad vi taler om. May 10, 2016, accessed December 4, 2019 (Danish).
  12. ^ Regeringen Lars Løkke Rasmussen I (ed.): GHETTOEN TILBAGE TIL SAMFUNDET: Et opgør med parallelsamfund i Danmark . October 2010 (Danish, stm.dk [PDF]).
  13. ↑ Denmark classifies 28 districts as ghettos. Retrieved December 4, 2019 .
  14. ↑ Tilbud til criminals in ghetto: Flyt and du for 15,000 kroner and flyttehjælp. Retrieved December 4, 2019 (Danish).
  15. ↑ Criminals bliver tilbudt 15,000 kr for at flytte fra boligområde. November 6, 2019, accessed December 4, 2019 .
  16. ↑ Odense vil betale kriminelle for at flytte ud af ghetto: I Brabrand lykkedes en lignende manøvre. Retrieved December 4, 2019 (Danish).
  17. ↑ Rådhuspladsen 37 1785 København V. Telephone: 33111313: Skærpet krig mod ghetto-gangstere. Retrieved December 4, 2019 (Danish).
  18. ↑ Peter Burhøi: »Det he absurd at bruge milliarder på boligområder, når man stamp the som ghettoer. Det skriger til himlen «. December 1, 2017, accessed December 4, 2019 (Danish).
  19. ↑ Tarek Omar Debatredaktør: Førende ghetto-forsker: "Drop nu jeres syge ghettolister, Danmark". May 26, 2013, accessed December 4, 2019 (da-DK).
  20. ↑ Den nye boligminister vil af med ordet ghetto: Ducks tænker man på den jødiske ghetto i Warszawa. Eller also tænker man on the tv series 'The Wire'. July 9, 2019, accessed December 4, 2019 (da-DK).

literature

  • Birte Bech Jørgensen: "De bliver allesammen bare smidt sammen ...", Den gode by. SBI-byplanlægning 40 . Statens Byggeforskningsinstitut 1981, ISBN 87-563-0415-3 , pp. 83-91.
  • Jan Magnussen: "Byen i forfald", Den gode by. SBI-byplanlægning 40 . Statens Byggeforskningsinstitut 1981, ISBN 87-563-0415-3 , pp. 174-180.