Two-way Integration of Immigrants and the Role of Cities in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area
Tarhanen, Saana (2021)
Tarhanen, Saana
2021
Master's Programme in Leadership for Change
Johtamisen ja talouden tiedekunta - Faculty of Management and Business
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2021-06-17
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202106095785
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202106095785
Tiivistelmä
Immigration changes societies and cities as they become more diverse. In Finland, integration of immigrants is nationally aligned to be a two-way process where both immigrants and the society integrate to each other. However, concept of two-way integration has remained vague, and it is not clear what it should mean in integration work in practice. In Finland, most of immigration has been directed to the Helsinki metropolitan area. The cities of Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa have been considered as pioneers in Finnish integration work, and therefore this study concentrates on these cities by analyzing their policy programs and interviewing civil servants of integration units. The study has three main research questions: first, how civil servants understand the principle of two-way integration and its implications for administration; second, if the idea of urban citizenship is present in integration policies of the area; and third, to what extent integration policies of the cities fall to the categories of assimilation, multiculturalism and interculturalism.
Integration policies are often categorized into assimilation, multiculturalism and interculturalism. Assimilation refers to merging immigrants into main population, and it has been criticized because it does not respect different cultures. Multiculturalism celebrates cultural variety in society, but critics argue that it keeps different cultural groups separate from each other and leads to segregation. Interculturalism sees people primarily as individuals, not as members of different groups. Interculturalism is considered to support two-way integration: Diversity is appreciated, and combined with strong emphasis on interaction, it should lead to peaceful co-living of different people in society. In addition, principle of normalization is important in interculturalism: society should consider needs of different people in its practices and for example organize public services so that they are accessible to immigrants as well. Interaction and principle of normalization emphasize the importance of the local level as they often take place in everyday life and public services. Further, urban citizenship thinking highlights the role of cities in integration by considering residence in a city as an alternative basis for integrating to the community, compared to official citizenship status.
The results of the study show that cities of the metropolitan area are still forerunners in developing integration practices based on their long experience, good resources for development work, and political will. They follow national alignments but also do integration policies based on their own local needs, utilizing municipal autonomy. Pragmatism is emphasized: needs of almost every fifth resident cannot be ignored. Urban citizenship thinking is understood as a built-in principle in the Finnish society: basic services are arranged by municipalities, and everyone has a right to use them, despite of their citizenship status. Further, as the volumes of immigration to the metropolitan area have increased, the cities have moved from multiculturalism towards interculturalism: people are not treated as members of cultural or religious groups but as individuals in public services, which also requires the services to become more accessible to diverse population. Two-way integration is recognized as an important principle in the metropolitan area, even though there is still work to do to fully achieve it. Cities understand two-way integration as a four-level framework where municipal administration, third sector, private sector and ordinary residents of the city should all change their action so that they would become more receptive to immigrants. Cities can support two-way integration in both public and private life by altering their own practices at strategical and practical levels, and by supporting other actors in the change. Cooperation with NGOs and private sector are essential for supporting two-way integration between ordinary people.
Integration policies are often categorized into assimilation, multiculturalism and interculturalism. Assimilation refers to merging immigrants into main population, and it has been criticized because it does not respect different cultures. Multiculturalism celebrates cultural variety in society, but critics argue that it keeps different cultural groups separate from each other and leads to segregation. Interculturalism sees people primarily as individuals, not as members of different groups. Interculturalism is considered to support two-way integration: Diversity is appreciated, and combined with strong emphasis on interaction, it should lead to peaceful co-living of different people in society. In addition, principle of normalization is important in interculturalism: society should consider needs of different people in its practices and for example organize public services so that they are accessible to immigrants as well. Interaction and principle of normalization emphasize the importance of the local level as they often take place in everyday life and public services. Further, urban citizenship thinking highlights the role of cities in integration by considering residence in a city as an alternative basis for integrating to the community, compared to official citizenship status.
The results of the study show that cities of the metropolitan area are still forerunners in developing integration practices based on their long experience, good resources for development work, and political will. They follow national alignments but also do integration policies based on their own local needs, utilizing municipal autonomy. Pragmatism is emphasized: needs of almost every fifth resident cannot be ignored. Urban citizenship thinking is understood as a built-in principle in the Finnish society: basic services are arranged by municipalities, and everyone has a right to use them, despite of their citizenship status. Further, as the volumes of immigration to the metropolitan area have increased, the cities have moved from multiculturalism towards interculturalism: people are not treated as members of cultural or religious groups but as individuals in public services, which also requires the services to become more accessible to diverse population. Two-way integration is recognized as an important principle in the metropolitan area, even though there is still work to do to fully achieve it. Cities understand two-way integration as a four-level framework where municipal administration, third sector, private sector and ordinary residents of the city should all change their action so that they would become more receptive to immigrants. Cities can support two-way integration in both public and private life by altering their own practices at strategical and practical levels, and by supporting other actors in the change. Cooperation with NGOs and private sector are essential for supporting two-way integration between ordinary people.