Housing and segregation of migrants - Case study: Antwerp, Belgium

Antwerp is the largest city in Flanders, with 470,044 inhabitants in 2006. Some 13% of the city’s population consists of foreigners, of whom 8% are non-EU nationals. Antwerp’s municipal housing policy aims to sustain and even increase the diversity within the city. This diversity pertains not so much to ethnicity, but rather to age, socioeconomic status, family status, level of professional qualification and other aspects of diversity. A priority target of Antwerp’s housing policy is to attract young families with two salaries and young children to the city. It also aims to increase the city’s housing supply and improve the present housing stock.