Neighbors and visitors: impact of diversity on attitudes toward migrants

2025/08/11 by Olena Hołubowska, Daria Dementeva, Ate Poorthuis · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Migration and Labor Dynamics #Migration, Refugees, and Integration #Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies

paper · doi:10.1080/01419870.2025.2539907

openalex publication_date 2025/08/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02

Abstract

Planning inclusive cities requires understanding the factors shaping residents’ attitudes towards outgroup members, including how exposure to migrants influences these views. While previous research has examined the relationship between neighborhood diversity and attitudes, this diversity is typically measured from a residential standpoint. Building on the mobility turn in social science, this study expands the lens by incorporating the role of visitor diversity—that is, individuals who reside in other neighborhoods but pass through a given area. Drawing on geolocated survey responses from 1,566 participants in Belgium and Twitter data from 31,488 users to capture patterns of visitor mobility, we find that a higher proportion of migrants among both residents and visitors is associated with more positive attitudes toward migrants, consistent with the contact hypothesis. These findings have implications for urban policy, suggesting that promoting inclusion requires attention not only to residential integration but also to the dynamics of everyday mobility.

Citations

• Educated Preferences: Explaining Attitudes Toward Immigration in Europe
• The Uncertain Geographic Context Problem
• Race and the City: Neighborhood Context and the Development of Generalized Trust
• A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory.
• Economic Insecurity, Prejudicial Stereotypes, and Public Opinion on Immigration Policy
• The relationship between outgroup size and anti-outgroup attitudes: A theoretical synthesis and empirical test of group threat- and intergroup contact theory
• Housing Policy, (De)segregation and Social Mixing: An International Perspective
• From residence to movement: The nature of racial segregation in everyday urban mobility
• Ethnic Diversity and Its Effects on Social Cohesion
• Ethnic Diversity and Social Trust

Discussions

• #ERSNew 🐣🔓 This study shows that both resident and visitor diversity in neighborhoods are linked to more positive attitudes toward migrants. It highlights how everyday exposure—beyond where people l [bsky, 1 points, 0 comments]

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