Rotterdam:

A Long-Time Port of Call and

Home to Immigrants
By Han Entzinger and Godfried Engbersen
TRANSATLANTIC COUNCIL ON MIGRATION

ROTTERDAM
A Long-Time Port of Call and
Home to Immigrants

Han Entzinger and Godfried Engbersen

September 2014
Acknowledgments
This research was commissioned by the Transatlantic Council on
Migration, an initiative of the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), for its
eleventh plenary meeting, held during November 2013 in London.
The meeting’s theme was “Cities and Regions: Reaping Migration’s
Local Dividends” and this paper was one of the reports that
informed the Council’s discussions.

The Council is a unique deliberative body that examines vital

policy issues and informs migration policymaking processes in
North America and Europe. The Council’s work is generously
supported by the following foundations and governments: Open
Society Foundations, Carnegie Corporation of New York, the
Barrow Cadbury Trust (UK policy partner), the Luso-American
Development Foundation, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and
the governments of Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and
Sweden.

For more on the Transatlantic Council on Migration, please visit:

www.migrationpolicy.org/transatlantic.

© 2014 Migration Policy Institute.

All Rights Reserved.

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Typesetting: Rebecca Kilberg, MPI

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Suggested citation: Entzinger, Han and Godfried Engbersen. 2014. Rotterdam:

A Long-Time Port of Call and Home to Immigrants. Washington, DC: Migration
Policy Institute.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary.......................................................................................................................... 1

I. Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 2

II. Rotterdam’s Immigrant Population............................................................................4

A. Numbers .......................................................................................................................................... 4
B. Segregation and Housing...............................................................................................................5
C. Education.......................................................................................................................................... 5
D. Labor Force Participation.............................................................................................................5
E. Challenges for City Authorities ..................................................................................................6

III. Politics and Policies in Rotterdam................................................................................7

A. Integration Policies in Rotterdam, Both Targeted and Universal..........................................7
B. General Integration Policies.........................................................................................................8
C. Targeted Integration Policies........................................................................................................9

IV. Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10

Works Cited..........................................................................................................................................12

About the Authors...........................................................................................................................14

 MIGRATION POLICY INSTITUTE

Executive Summary

Rotterdam has long been a city of immigrants. A port city connecting the Netherlands with major trading
partners, Rotterdam is home to migrants from around the globe, yet it has not quite reached Amsterdam’s
“global city” status. As Rotterdam jostles for a place in the world economy, it will need to overcome a
number of critical challenges: developing the skills of its citizens (especially the disadvantaged), attracting
and retaining highly skilled workers, and fostering cohesion among increasingly transient communities.

The neighborhoods of Rotterdam and its environs are divided along socioeconomic lines. Most of the
housing within city limits is of relatively low quality; those who can afford to live in the suburbs or farther
afield. This dynamic in large part explains why Rotterdam’s immigrant population is so high—close to half
of the city’s 610,000 residents were born abroad or have at least one foreign-born parent. While changes
to the housing stock (such as the replacement of dilapidated housing with owner-occupied and higher-
rent apartments) have reduced segregation, they have not erased it: nonimmigrants are likely to live in
the north and east, and along former docks; immigrants are more likely to live in the west and south of
the city. In addition, a notable gap in educational and labor market outcomes persists between immigrant
and nonimmigrant populations. Recent events such as the global economic crisis and an increase in labor
migration from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have only served to exacerbate these issues.

Rotterdam has been at the forefront of thinking about how to

reduce residential segregation, improve social cohesion, and
bolster socioeconomic outcomes for immigrants.

Rotterdam has been at the forefront of thinking about how to reduce residential segregation, improve social
cohesion, and bolster socioeconomic outcomes for immigrants. Reflecting a trend in the Netherlands at
large, city administrators no longer think of integration as a stand-alone issue, but address policies toward
all “Rotterdamers” wherever possible. One of the city’s recent flagship programs seeks to reduce disparities
between the two sides of Rotterdam—the more affluent suburbs and world-famous port on the one hand,
and the blighted southern section on the other—by improving residents’ educational levels, reducing
unemployment, and attracting the middle class back to the city center. Targeted policies, meanwhile, are
maintained where deemed necessary—for example, to serve disadvantaged immigrant communities and
new arrivals who may require specialized integration assistance.

As Rotterdam transforms into an international city, it will need to continue its efforts to support struggling
citizens and transform blighted neighborhoods. Rotterdam’s history as a port and transit city is clearly
its strength, but also potentially its weakness if communities become ever more transitory. The recent
rise in temporary forms of migration presents new challenges for Rotterdam’s integration policy, which
has traditionally focused on permanent residents. To ensure the successful integration of the city’s long-
term and temporary migrant populations, Rotterdam will have to improve the quality of its housing and
educational offerings, and invest in new industries and jobs. This is a much bigger challenge than simply
facilitating immigrant integration.

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I. Introduction

As a port city and important transport hub, Rotterdam has long attracted immigrants. As early as 1600,
one-quarter of the city’s population was born outside the Netherlands.1 However, it was only when a
direct link to the sea was carved through the dunes—after the middle of the 19th century—that Rotterdam
became a major gateway and transfer port. Its geographical location in the delta of the Rhine and Meuse
rivers made it an important hub for the Netherlands, large parts of Germany, and other countries in
Central Europe, to which it was connected via waterways and a rapidly expanding railway network.
The port of Rotterdam is now the largest in Europe, and the world’s third-largest after Shanghai and
Singapore. Along with related industries, including an important transportation sector, the port has long
been a magnet for migrants, initially from rural parts of Netherlands, and later from farther afield.

Rotterdam is a large, highly diverse city. Today, it is the second-largest city in the Netherlands
(after Amsterdam): the municipality of Rotterdam has a population of over 610,000, and the larger
metropolitan area houses about 1.2 million people. The city counts 175 different nationalities among its
residents, a level of diversity comparable to Amsterdam, London, and New York.2

As a port city and important transport hub, Rotterdam has long

attracted immigrants.

Immigrants arrived for a number of reasons. Chinese sailors worked on Dutch ships in the early 20th
century; low-skilled labor migrants (and later their families) came from southern Europe, Turkey, and
Morocco from the 1960s onwards. Rotterdam also houses a sizeable Cape Verdean community that, like
the Chinese, has a background in shipping. Postcolonial migrants arrived from Indonesia, Suriname, and
the Dutch Caribbean. More recently, asylum seekers arrived from the former Yugoslavia (particularly
following the conflict of 1992-95), the former Soviet Union, Turkey, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and Somalia.

Throughout the years, Rotterdam has attracted labor migrants from nearby countries in Europe, such
as Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and France. Since the European Union (EU) enlargements
of 2004 and 2007, migrants have also been arriving from Central European countries, primarily from
Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary (see Table 1).3 Because many of these labor migrants do not
register in the municipality, it is difficult to get an accurate picture of their numbers; city experts estimate
the number of EU nationals at between 25,000 and 35,000.

1 Jan Lucassen, “Immigranten in Holland 1600-1800: Een kwantitatieve benadering” [“Immigrants in Holland 1600-1800: A
Quantitative Approach”] (CGM Working Paper 3, Centrum voor de Geschiedenis van Migranten, Amsterdam, 2002), 28.
2 Steven Vertovec, “Super-Diversity and Its Implications,” Ethnic and Racial Studies 29, no. 6 (2007): 1024–54; Michael Samers,
Migration (London: Routledge, 2010).
3 Erik Snel, Godfried Engbersen, Maria Ilies, Robbert van der Meij, and Katja Rusinovic, Arbeidsmigranten uit Bulgarije, Polen
en Roemenië in Rotterdam: Sociale leefsi­tuatie, arbeidspositie en toekomstperspectief (Den Haag: Netherlands Institute for City
Innovation Studies, 2010).

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Table 1. Number of Registered Migrants from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in Rotterdam by
Nationality, January 1, 1996-2012

Nationality 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012
Bulgaria 34 37 52 76 105 132 630 1,403 2,440
Slovenia 10 11 11 22 21 38 44 80 103
Cyprus 4 2 4 7 7 8 11 13 27
Hungary 79 104 104 122 118 140 205 377 655
Latvia 8 9 20 24 44 67 75 119 328
Lithuania 14 34 48 68 69 160 190 267 424
Malta 1 3 3 3 4 4 6 8 7
Poland 212 235 236 264 356 787 1,223 2,552 4,041
Romania 101 69 89 136 165 171 283 436 610
Slovakia 15 35 50 54 62 79 107 192 231
Czech Republic 29 38 59 66 81 97 96 119 156
Other 9 7 6 7 7 8 22 39 66
Total CEE migrants 516 584 682 849 1,045 1,704 2,892 5,605 9,088
Source: Authors’ compilation of data from the Rotterdam Centre for Research and Statistics (COS).

Rotterdam is also home to a significant number of highly skilled migrants: between 25,000 and 30,000
expatriates are thought to live in the city.4 Although Rotterdam lacks the international image of Amsterdam
(once described by sociologist Saskia Sassen as the Netherlands’ only global city) and of The Hague (the
self-proclaimed “legal capital of the world”), it offers many highly skilled jobs in transportation, logistics,
and architecture. After Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas decided to locate his Office for Metropolitan
Architecture (OMA) in Rotterdam in 1975, a cluster of innovative architecture firms grew up in the city.5 In
2008 the Rotterdam Expat Desk was established, where expatriates can receive information about housing,
health care, and education. The provision of such services reflects the increasing competitiveness of the
global market for human capital.6

Despite this shift toward attracting more skilled workers, Rotterdam’s population continues to be relatively
low-skilled. Many high-skilled workers commute from the suburbs or from farther afield, in part because
the housing stock within city limits is of relatively low quality. For about three-quarters of a century,
consecutive social-democratic local governments prioritized building housing for rapidly growing numbers
of low-skilled workers, many of them with migrant origins.7 It was not until the past decade that the city
sought to create neighborhoods that might draw higher-income groups. In some parts of the city, cheap
housing is (slowly) being replaced by owner-occupied housing and higher-rent apartments for higher-
income households (termed “social mixing”) (see Table 2). These changes to the housing stock—coupled
with the economic crisis—have slowed the outmigration of the middle class (of all ethnic backgrounds)
from the city to the suburbs.

4 Lilian Van der Steen and Natascha Heijstek, Expatdesk Rotterdam (Rotterdam: Gemeente Rotterdam, 2010), www.stedeli-
jkeeconomie.nl/dsresource?objectid=200851.
5 Robert Kloosterman and Eva Stegmeijer, “Delirious Rotterdam: The Formation of an Innovative Cluster of Architectural Firms,”
in Learning from Clusters: A Critical Assessment from an Economic-Geographical Perspective, eds. Ron Boschma and Robert
Kloosterman (Dordrecht: Springer, 2005), 203–24.
6 Marianne Van Bochove, Katja Rusinovic, and Godfried Engbersen, On the Red Carpet: Expats in Rotterdam and The Hague (Rot-
terdam: Erasmus University, 2010), http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/33097/metis_176261.pdf.
7 Frans Dieleman and Richard Kloosterman, “Room to Maneuver; Governance, the Post-industrial Economy, and Housing Provi-
sion in Rotterdam,” in The Social Sustainability of Cities. Diversity and the Management of Change, eds. Mario Polèse and Richard
Stren (Toronto: Scholarly Publishing Division, University of Toronto, 2000), 175–202.

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Table 2. Characteristics of the Housing Stock in Rotterdam and the Netherlands, 1998 and 2012

Years 1998 2012

Rotterdam Netherlands Rotterdam Netherlands
Type of dwelling (%)
Single-family dwelling 21 69 25 67
Social-rented housing 59 37 50 31
Owner occupied 24 51 34 56

Purchase and rental prices (%)

Rent—low 47 26 18 8
Rent—medium 21 17 18 10
Rent—high 8 6 27 22
Purchase—low 9 10 9 7
Purchase—medium 8 18 6 11
Purchase—high 7 23 12 34

Sources: Godfried Engbersen, Erik Snel, and Afke Weltevrede, Sociale herovering in Amsterdam en Rotterdam: Eén
verhaal over twee wijken [Social Reconquest in Amsterdam and Rotterdam: One story about two neighborhoods]
(Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2005), 33, www.wrr.nl/fileadmin/nl/publicaties/PDF-verkenningen/Sociale_
herovering_in_Amsterdam_en_Rotterdam.pdf; authors’ compilation of data from CBS Statline and Rotterdam Centre for
Research and Statistics (COS).

Many immigrants are low-income and cannot afford to move out of the lower-quality segments of
Rotterdam’s housing stock. This fact explains, in large part, why the immigrant share of Rotterdam’s
population is among the highest in the Netherlands, and substantially higher than in the country as a
whole.

II. Rotterdam’s Immigrant Population

A. Numbers

In 2010, 27 percent of Rotterdam’s population was born outside the Netherlands, far more than the 11
percent average across the country as a whole; a further 21 percent had at least one immigrant parent.8
As a result, 48 percent or almost half of all Rotterdamers had an immigrant background. This share
is growing, and is expected to reach 56 percent by 2025. In 2010 the largest immigrant communities
originated in Suriname (8.8 percent of the total population), Turkey (7.9 percent), Morocco (6.6
percent), and the Dutch Caribbean (3.6 percent). Of the 48 percent of the population with an immigrant
background, about half had roots in other Western countries (defined as Europe, North America, and
Oceania), and the other half in non-Western countries.

8 This section is based on Han Entzinger, “Amsterdam—Rotterdam: Diverse yet Different,” The State of Integration: Rotterdam
Amsterdam (2012): 11–33. Data for this study were collected by the Rotterdam Center for Research and Statistics (COS).

4 Rotterdam: A Long-Time Port of Call and Home to Immigrants

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B. Segregation and Housing

Rotterdam is highly segregated and, of all immigrant groups, Turks are the most segregated. Their
dissimilarity index stands at 38, which means that almost four out of every ten Turks would have to move
to a neighborhood where they are under-represented in order to achieve a fully balanced distribution of
the Turkish population across the city. Native Dutch are even more segregated: 45 percent would have to
move to achieve a balanced distribution. Persons with an immigrant background, particularly those whose
origins lie in non-Western countries, tend to be over-represented in the older neighborhoods to the west
and the north of the city center as well as in South Rotterdam, where most of the city’s public housing
stock, built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is located. The native Dutch and immigrants from other
Western countries are more likely to live in more expensive neighborhoods to the north and east of the
city, as well as in recently constructed housing farther east, in the city center, and in the former docks along
the river. Ongoing divisions, however, cannot detract from the remarkable progress toward desegregation
made in the past ten years. This is in part an effect of housing and construction policies, and also of the
increased upward mobility of second-generation immigrants. By contrast, in the same time period the
segregation in Amsterdam only increased.

C. Education

Since newly arrived immigrants tend to be younger on average than the native population, immigration has
led to the significant rejuvenation of Rotterdam’s population. Of those ages 14 or younger, 61 percent have
at least one immigrant parent or are immigrants themselves. This poses a challenge for the city’s schools,
which must meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student population.

While the native-born population in Rotterdam is low-skilled compared to the Dutch average, immigrants
are even more likely to be low-skilled. Of the native Dutch population in Rotterdam, 31 percent have a
low-level education (primary school or lower-level vocational training), while 30 percent have obtained
a tertiary degree. (By comparison, the corresponding figures for Amsterdam are 18 and 48 percent,
respectively.) Among immigrants, 49 percent have a low-level education, and only 17 percent are highly
educated. But these averages mask considerable variation across groups: highly educated migrant workers
are likely to be from Western Europe, while only about 8 percent of all Turks and Moroccans are in this
category.

Given the growing demand for highly educated workers, raising the educational level of Rotterdam’s
population is a top priority. Some success has been achieved in this regard. The percentage of low-educated
Rotterdamers has decreased by ten points in the past decade. However, this is true for both immigrants
and nonimmigrants, so the gap between these two categories has not shrunk. On a positive note, the school
dropout rates of immigrant youth have decreased, while the number of second-generation immigrants
participating in higher education (particularly advanced vocational training) has increased to a level on par
with their native-born peers.

D. Labor Force Participation

Labor force participation is generally considered another major indicator of integration. Here, as in the
case of education, immigrants in Rotterdam are at a disadvantage. While the labor force participation of
both immigrants and nonimmigrants rose prior to 2008, the economic crisis marked a drop in immigrant
employment. The gap between immigrants and nonimmigrants has widened in subsequent years.9

There is considerable variation across different groups of immigrants. Those with a Western background

9 Willem Huijnk, Mérove Gijsberts, and Jaco Dagevos, Jaarrapport Integratie 2013 [Annual Report on integration] (The Hague:
Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau/Netherlands Institute for Social Research, 2014), 39.

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have a labor force participation rate that is very similar to that of nonimmigrants. In recent years, there has
been a rapid increase in migrants from other EU countries, particularly from Poland, most of whom have
come in search of work. Among the older immigrant groups, those from Suriname and Cape Verde are faring
well, with levels of participation similar to those of nonimmigrants. In comparison, Turks and Moroccans
show especially poor outcomes, particularly among women and youth. About half of all Turkish and
Moroccan women between the ages of 25 and 34 in Rotterdam are not active in the labor market, compared
to less than one in ten for native-born women. For the older generations, that gap is even wider. While some
of these women may be working in the informal economy, these high nonparticipation rates appear to
reflect barriers to their full integration into local society.

E. Challenges for City Authorities

Attempts to raise immigrant levels of education and employment have posed major challenges to local
policymakers in Rotterdam for quite some time now, a situation that is likely to persist. But there is hope.
In the future, well-educated, economically active immigrants are likely to earn higher incomes than they
do today. Their upward mobility will give them greater freedom to choose where they live, speeding up the
process of desegregation that is already in motion, and likely decreasing their reliance on social security.

Yet, for the time being, the challenges are pressing. In 2008, 25 percent of first-generation immigrants in
Rotterdam between the ages of 23 and 64 years were dependent on some form of social security. Notably,
this fell to 12 percent among second-generation immigrants—2 percent lower than the nonimmigrant
population. However, these figures have risen since the economic crisis sparked a relatively steep rise in
immigrant unemployment.

Attempts to raise immigrant levels of education and employment

have posed major challenges to local policymakers in Rotterdam
for quite some time now.

Bridging the socioeconomic gap between natives and immigrants is also important for its potential impact
on immigrants’ well-being. Immigrants’ self-reported health is not as good, on average, as that of the native
born; mental health issues are of particular concern in Rotterdam’s Turk and Moroccan communities. Yet
there is no significant difference in the number of doctor’s visits reported by immigrants and the native
born.

Crime poses an even more serious, if controversial, challenge to city administrators. While overall crime
rates have decreased by about 20 percent in the past decade, they are particularly high among youth of
Moroccan and Caribbean descent. These groups are overrepresented among those arrested for criminal
offenses, even when the numbers are controlled for age and educational level.

A number of obstacles will have to be removed before Rotterdamers of immigrant origin will be
participating in city life on the same footing as the native-born population. Yet they report a tremendous
loyalty to their home. In a 2010 representative survey among the population of Rotterdam 74 percent of
respondents declared themselves attached or strongly attached to the city. The highest score was for people
of Moroccan descent—82 percent—while nonimmigrants scored a more modest 73 percent. Immigrants
are also more confident in their local government: 56 percent of Moroccan respondents and 47 percent of
Turks reported a high level of confidence in the authorities, compared to 36 percent of the nonimmigrant
population.10 These signs point to some policy successes in the handling of the city’s growing diversity.

10 All data in this paragraph stem from: Municipality of Rotterdam, Rotterdam Sociaal Gemeten 2010 [Rotterdam, Measured Socially
2010] (Rotterdam: Municipality of Rotterdam, 2010).

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III. Politics and Policies in Rotterdam

A. Integration Policies in Rotterdam, Both Targeted and Universal

Dutch integration policies have undergone three distinct phases, each with a different focus. During the first
phase, in the 1970s and 1980s, the emphasis was on the cultural dimension, which included supporting the
migrants’ self-organization. For example, the government provided education in minorities’ own languages,
and financed special arrangements, such as social work and community development activities specifically
for Muslim and Hindus. This approach came under criticism during the second phase, in the 1990s.
Multiculturalism was still considered important, but more attention was given to reducing unemployment
and welfare dependence. During the third and current phase (from 2002 onward), integration policies have
moved toward a model of assimilation, by emphasizing cultural adaptation while introducing more selective
immigration policies.11 A symbolic measure of the latest phase was the repeal by the Dutch Parliament of the
Minorities Policies (Consultation) Act (Wet Overleg Minderhedenbeleid, WOM), which had been in place for 16
years. This ended the central government’s consultation with national minority organizations on integration
policy, as provided for by law. The law’s repeal, in 2013, marked a shift in focus from targeting policies (i.e.,
specific to particular minorities and ethnic groups) to addressing them to anyone living in the Netherlands.

These national changes were reflected in Rotterdam’s policies. The 2002 elections—in which Pim Fortuyn’s
new local party “Livable Rotterdam” became the largest party in the Rotterdam City Council—changed
the face of local multicultural policies on integration. As a result of rising public anxiety about safety,
immigration, and declining livability, the new right-wing coalition launched an ambitious program, with
integration as one of its top priorities.12 This initiative highlighted problems such as the concentration of
low-skilled and residentially segregated inhabitants in so-called “problem neighborhoods,” describing these
areas as having reached their “absorptive capacity” to incorporate newcomers.13 These neighborhoods
were targeted through programs such as “Mensen maken de stad” (“People Make the City”), an initiative
that promoted urban citizenship as a way to increase the social and cultural integration of native-Dutch and
immigrant ethnic communities. More controversially, the municipality implemented the newly introduced
Major Cities (Exceptional Measures) Act, often referred to as the “Rotterdam Act.”14 This act enabled local
authorities to restrict the inflow of new, vulnerable residents into “problem neighborhoods.”15

11 Masja van Meeteren et al., “Destination Netherlands: History of Immigration and Immigration Policy in the Netherlands,” in
Immigration in the 21th Century: Political, Social and Economic Issue, ed. Judy Ho (New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2013),
113–70.
12 Coalitieakkoord Rotterdam. Het nieuwe elan van Rotterdam [Coalition Agreement Rotterdam. The New Spirit of Rotterdam] (Rot-
terdam: Municipality of Rotterdam, 2002).
13 Coalitieakkoord Rotterdam, Rotterdam zet door: Op weg naar een stad in balans [Coalition Agreement Rotterdam, Rotterdam
Persists. The Road to a Balanced City] (Rotterdam: Municipality of Rotterdam, 2010).
14 The policy paper Rotterdam Persists (2003) states that the city would wish to control the “inflow of deprived groups into the
region, city and borough. Anyone wishing to settle in certain problematic parts of the city would have to apply for a ‘settlement
permit.’” Eligibility for such a permit would be based on income from regular employment. This requirement should not apply
to Rotterdam residents, but only to individuals and families wishing to move into these neighborhoods from outside Rotterdam.
This formulation of the selective settlement policy carefully avoided mentioning ethnic origin as the criterion for admittance to
the city, because that would be discriminatory. Nevertheless, Rotterdam’s selective settlement policy was found to be incompati-
ble with existing Dutch legislation. In December 2005 the Dutch government announced the Major Cities (Exceptional Measures)
Act, which was subsequently adopted by the municipality of Rotterdam.
15 See Municipality of Rotterdam, Beleidsregel burgerschapsbeleid en participatie [Policy Rule Citizenship Policy and Participation]
(Rotterdam: Municipality of Rotterdam, 2011). Parliamentary Documents II, 2010-2011, 29 407; and Parliamentary Documents
II 2011-2012, 29 407. See also Erik Snel and Godfried Engbersen, “Changing Urban Policies in the City of Rotterdam,” in Between
the Social and the Spatial, eds. Katrien de Boyser, Caroline Dewilde, Danielle Dierckx, and Jürgen Friedrichs (Farnham, UK: Ash-
gate Publishing, 2009), 149–66.

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Eight years later, in 2010, “citizenship” became the key concept in local integration policy.16 A new
coalition (consisting of Social Democrats, Christian Democrats, Conservative Liberals, and Social
Liberals) launched a program entitled “Ruimte voor talent en ondernemen” (Room for Talent and
Innovation).17 The term allochtoon (i.e. an immigrant or someone with at least one immigrant parent)
was notably absent from the entire coalition program, while the terms “integration,” “problem
neighborhood,” and “migration” occurred only once each. The program marked a shift away from
targeting disadvantaged, ethnically segregated communities, toward a more generally inclusive model
that emphasized the socioeconomic participation of all local citizens through work, education, sports,
and culture.

In recent years the city has placed great importance on the role of
immigrant organizations and citizen initiatives.

This process of inserting immigrant integration policies into broader social inclusion policies aimed
at the general population is often referred to as “mainstreaming.” Integration policy is no longer set
apart and promoted by a separate policy department; it is instead the responsibility of many different
municipal departments, the private sector, and civil-society actors.18 Moreover, private-sector and civil-
society actors—housing associations, employers, educational institutions, health organizations, and
citizen associations—play a more dominant role in the design and implementation of integration policy.
For example, in Rotterdam, educational institutions that offer higher-level vocational courses coordinate
with employers to develop practical education programs that guarantee work.

In recent years the city has placed great importance on the role of immigrant organizations and
citizen initiatives, allowing these initiatives to develop while helping to maintain open channels of
communication. The program “Mee(R) doen, Rotterdammers in actie” (“Do More, People of Rotterdam in
Action”) illustrates this dual approach.19 The city convened meetings with Caribbean, Moroccan, Turkish,
and Pakistani associations to discuss issues around parenting, obesity, school completion, and work. This
program illustrates that Rotterdam maintains some targeted efforts despite its broadly mainstreamed
approach.

B. General Integration Policies

Rotterdam’s approach to mainstreaming involves general policy programs that aim to improve the
capacities and opportunities of all Rotterdam residents. These programs are often simpler to implement
and have more popular support than do targeted policies. This new approach to integration is visible in
the ambitious National Program South Rotterdam (NPRZ) and the Rotterdam anti-poverty program. No
specific target groups, ethnic or otherwise, are identified in advance for these two programs, although
migrant groups do benefit significantly from them. South Rotterdam has a sizeable migrant population,
and many migrant households live on social assistance.

NPRZ starts from the premise that many European cities have dual identities, as hosts to both buzzing
economic activity and serious urban deprivation. Rotterdam has a world-famous harbor and affluent

16 “Citizenship” should not be understood here in its legal meaning, but rather as a sociological concept. It reflects the ties that
link a person to the (local) community, no matter whether he or she is a Dutch national.
17 Coalitieakkoord 2010-2014, Ruimte voor talent en ondernemen (Rotterdam: Coalitieakkoord 2010-2014 Rotterdam, 2010),
www.rotterdam.nl/Griffie/Document/2010-1227%20Coalitieakkoord%20Ruimte%20voor%20Talent%20en%20Onder-
nemen.pdf.
18 See Elizabeth Collett, Milica Petrovic, and Peter Scholten, Experiences of Mainstreaming Migrant Integration in Europe: Les-
sons for the Netherlands (Brussels: Migration Policy Institute Europe, 2013).
19 Municipality of Rotterdam. Mee(R)doen, Rotterdammers in actie [Do More, People of Rotterdam in Action] (Rotterdam: Mu-
nicipality of Rotterdam, 2011).

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neighborhoods, even as the low-skilled, ethnically diverse population of its southern neighborhoods
grapples with large-scale poverty and unemployment. Since 2012 NPRZ has been active in the most
deprived, ethnically diverse neighborhoods of South Rotterdam, which have a combined population of
77,000 residents, about one-third of the total population of that part of the city, which is situated south
of the river Meuse (Maas) that splits the city in two. NPRZ is founded on three pillars: education, work,
and housing. First, the program aims to improve the educational level of young people from the area—for
example, by reducing school dropouts, and encouraging disadvantaged youth to choose promising fields
of study that prepare them for technical or caring professions. It also aims to reduce unemployment and
stimulate labor market participation, by providing job guarantees for youth and other jobseekers from
the area. Last, the program aims to modernize 35,000 dwellings, which is one-third of the housing stock
in South Rotterdam, in hopes that better-quality housing will help retain the upwardly mobile and attract
middle-class households to this part of the city. It is too early to evaluate the outcomes of this program,
which started in 2012. While it seems promising, the initiative has been beset by financial problems due to
the global economic crisis and a lack of funding.

The Rotterdam anti-poverty program “Activerend armoedebeleid” (“Activating Poverty Policy”) targets
all poor Rotterdam citizens. In addition to individual social assistance benefits, Rotterdam provides a
state pension allowance and a dependent child allowance, and contributes to collective health insurance
for poor households. There is also an income supplement for Rotterdam citizens who have lived on a low
income for over five years. The municipality subsidizes organizations that promote the participation of
children from poor families in sports and cultural activities.

C. Targeted Integration Policies

Rotterdam’s anti-poverty program demonstrates that even a “mainstreamed” approach may target
beneficiaries, for example, children or people suffering from chronic disease. At the same time, the city
of Rotterdam continues to develop policies that target specific migrant groups, especially those with
longstanding disadvantages, recently arrived labor migrants (in particular from Central and Eastern
Europe), and highly skilled expats.

One such targeted program, already mentioned, is “Do More, People of Rotterdam in Action.” This program
seeks to address social issues such as crime, unemployment among youth and women, early school-
leaving, and obesity—all of which are prevalent in certain immigrant communities, including Caribbean,
Moroccan, and Turkish enclaves. Other projects focus on providing specific services designed to foster
identity and belonging among these communities, through measures such as presenting successful role
models to school classes and increasing parents’ participation in schools.20 These targeted programs often
take the form of pilot projects, training sessions, or forums to encourage ideas and feedback from citizen
groups.21

Rotterdam’s policy on labor migrants from CEE is one of the most important and hotly debated in the
past few years. While most new labor migrants integrate smoothly into urban society and contribute
to the regional economy, the labor mobility triggered by the EU enlargements of 2004 and 2007 has
challenged civic integration.22 Problems include nonregistration and irregular work (for example, arising
from “moonlighting” or fraudulent employment agencies), poor-quality housing and homelessness, and
educational issues such as not enrolling or withdrawing children from school. Almost all of these social
problems are felt most keenly at the local level.23 Moreover, they illustrate the limitations of distinguishing
20 See Marianne van Bochove, Een rolmodel, ik? Vijftien Rotterdamse vrouwen over succes, inspiratie en mentoring (Rotterdam:
Sociaal Platform Rotterdam, 2008).
21 See Municipality of Rotterdam, Mee(R)doen, Rotterdammers in actie [Do More, People of Rotterdam in Action] (Rotterdam:
Muncipality of Rotterdam, 2011).
22 See Godfried Engbersen, “Labour Migration from Central and Eastern Europe and the Implications for Integration Policy,” in
Jan Willem Holtslag, Monique Kremer, and Erik Schrijvers, eds., Making Migration Work: The Future of Labour Migration in the
European Union (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2013): 104–21.
23 See Snel, Engbersen, Ilies, van der Meij, and Rusinovic, Arbeidsmigranten uit Bulgarije, Polen en Roemenië in Rotterdam.

Rotterdam: A Long-Time Port of Call and Home to Immigrants 9

 MIGRATION POLICY INSTITUTE

between non-EU migrants and mobile EU citizens for the purposes of integration policy—as per the EU
framework on free movement policy—since EU migrants may also need to learn the language and become
familiar with Dutch society. The city of Rotterdam was among the first to publicly address CEE labor
migration. Along with The Hague, Rotterdam organized a summit on Polish migration in 2007 that was
attended by 40 Dutch municipalities. Both cities have since continued to draw attention to the integration
challenges of CEE labor migrants, prompting the Dutch Parliament to initiate a large-scale parliamentary
inquiry into “Lessons Concerning Recent Labor Migration” in 2011.24 Following consultations with
Rotterdam and other cities, the national government prepared a series of specific policy measures, mainly
in the areas of registration, work and enforcement of labor regulations, social provisions, housing, civic
integration, and repatriation.25

The “expatriate policy” is a third example of a targeted policy. Rotterdam has developed specific services,
such as an Expat Desk, to facilitate the integration of new immigrant groups (many of them highly skilled
temporary migrants) in Rotterdam. Cities like Rotterdam must not only attract the highly skilled, but help
them to feel at home and facilitate their integration process. Research has indicated that highly skilled
immigrants are integrated in Rotterdam society to a limited extent, and that some of them would like more
integration.26 National and local integration policies have traditionally focused on migrants who settle
permanently. Increasingly, however, Rotterdam is a temporary home (three to five years) for a transient
workforce. Highly skilled labor migration in particular represents a new challenge for Rotterdam.

IV. Conclusion

Rotterdam’s past and present have been shaped by migration. But despite political shifts in response to
changing demographics, Rotterdam’s policies have remained remarkably constant in a number of respects.

First, the city has exhibited concern over dense spatial concentrations of vulnerable groups since the
early 1970s, culminating in the so-called “Rotterdam Act.” Second, the city leadership has always taken a
pragmatic approach to fostering communication with immigrant communities and their associations, even
when this appears to be incompatible with principles such as the separation of church and state. Third,
Rotterdam’s pioneering development of the idea of “urban citizenship” can still be observed in the most
recent (2010-14) local government program, which emphasizes active citizenship and participation. And,
finally, the city has been aware for some time now that not all urban problems can be solved at the local
level alone. Some issues require public policy interventions at the national or even supranational level.

Looking ahead, Rotterdam will continue to attract immigrants—but with important differences. While the
city will likely continue to be a destination of choice, it will need to avoid simply becoming a “way station”
or transit point.27 There are two major factors at play. One is that migrants will continue to settle within
city limits, where housing is relatively cheap and they can be close to their families or networks. As some
of these new arrivals settle, they may become upwardly mobile and leave the city for the suburbs. This
pattern is now becoming clearly visible among the children of those immigrants who settled a few decades
ago.

24 Temporary Parliamentary Commission, Eindrapport Arbeidsmigratie in goede banen (Final Report, Managing Labour Migra-
tion), Parliamentary Documents Netherlands 32 680, 2011-12.
25 Parliamentary Documents II, 2010-2011, 29 407; and Parliamentary Documents II 2011-2012, 29 407. See also Godfried Eng-
bersen, Peter Scholten, and Erik Snel, “In Pursuit of Multi-level Governance. Urban Responses to the New Labour Migration
from Central and Eastern Europe” (paper presented at the 20th International Conference of Europeanists, Crisis and Contin-
gency: States of (In)stability, Amsterdam, June 25-27, 2013).
26 Marianne van Bochove and Godfried Engbersen, “Beyond Cosmopolitanism and Expat Bubbles: Challenging Dominant Repre-
sentations of Knowledge Workers and Trailing Spouses,” Population, Space and Place (published online, December 10, 2013);
and van Bochove, Rusinovic, and Engbersen, On the Red Carpet.
27 See Doug Saunders, Arrival City: How the Largest Migration in History Is Reshaping Our World (New York: Pantheon, 2011).

10 Rotterdam: A Long-Time Port of Call and Home to Immigrants

 MIGRATION POLICY INSTITUTE

However, not everyone will be so lucky: the less successful are likely to stay behind, and some may remain
highly disadvantaged. Moreover, as more successful immigrants vacate their homes, these properties
may become occupied once more by newcomers—many of them labor migrants (including unauthorized
workers) who may have traveled from Eastern Europe or farther afield without their families and with
no intention to settle down for any prolonged period. Many such temporary residents are likely to end
up in the least attractive parts of the city. Consequently, these areas may become more like a way station,
with all of the attendant risks: housing neglect, lack of social cohesion, deprivation, public health risks,
and crime. It is very important, therefore, to invest the resources needed to improve city housing and
residents’ overall living environment, ensure that rules are enforced, invest in schools and health care, and
build sports facilities and otherwise promote the participation of area residents in community life.

If the city were to become more of a way station, the problems would be most obvious at lower
socioeconomic levels but would also be felt at the higher end of the income spectrum. If they see their
stay as temporary, high-skilled workers may not take the trouble to learn Dutch or familiarize themselves
with the local community. This may in turn affect the city’s social fabric. While the needs of high-skilled
workers may call for less attention than those of the socioeconomically disadvantaged, they too require
the focus of city policymakers. Some temporary high-skilled workers may demand special educational
facilities for their children, or need encouragement to leave their mark on local associations and
community life.

Immigrant integration, both in the short and long term, is intimately

intertwined with other urban processes.

Rotterdam will certainly develop into an even more international city than it is now. But its position as a
typical postindustrial city, characterized by one dominant attribute—its port—leaves the city’s economy
vulnerable. Many of the low-skilled jobs once available can be moved elsewhere. In thriving global cities,
such as Amsterdam, many low-skilled jobs have been moved to the service sector (e.g., domestic work,
cleaning, or catering), where they are more directly linked to the high-skilled sectors. To compete in the
global economy, the city of Rotterdam will have to invest in retaining low-skilled jobs—and workers across
the skills spectrum—and raising the educational levels of its entire population, as well as improving the
quality of its housing and cultural offerings.

Rotterdam has been an innovator in the formulation of integration policies. The urban citizenship
approach, an ongoing dialogue with immigrant communities, the so-called “Rotterdam Act,” and current
policies to regulate new labor migration from CEE have served as examples for other Dutch and European
cities. Yet the impacts of its innovations are as yet unclear. Skeptics argue that “mainstreaming” integration
policy leaves fewer resources for the people most in need of them, while others argue that it will force
powerful municipal departments (in the policy domains of education, housing, economic development,
and finance) to pay more attention to how their work affects integration. Yet one point may be agreed
upon: integration policy can never address only immigrants, whether as individuals or as communities.
Immigrant integration, both in the short and long term, is intimately intertwined with other urban
processes. As such, integration policies do not stand alone, but should be designed in concert with broader
local, national, and transnational policy initiatives.

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 MIGRATION POLICY INSTITUTE

Works Cited

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Engbersen, Godfried, Erik Snel, and Afke Weltevrede. 2005. Sociale herovering in Amsterdam en Rotterdam. Eén ver-
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Engbersen, Godfried, Peter Scholten, and Erik Snel. 2013. In Pursuit of Multi-level Governance: Urban Responses
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Entzinger, Han. 2012. Amsterdam—Rotterdam: Diverse yet Different. The State of Integration: Rotterdam Amster-
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Huijnk, Willem Mérove Gijsberts, and Jaco Dagevos. 2014. Jaarrapport Integratie 2013 [Annual Report on Integration
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______. 2010. Rotterdam Sociaal Gemeten 2010 [Rotterdam, Measured Socially 2010]. Rotterdam: Municipality of
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Snel, Erik, Godfried Engbersen, Maria Ilies, Robbert van der Meij, and Katja Rusinovic. 2010. Arbeidsmigranten uit
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For more on MPI's Transatlantic Council on Migration, visit:

w w w. m i g r a t i o n p o l i c y. o r g / t r a n s a t l a n t i c

Rotterdam: A Long-Time Port of Call and Home to Immigrants 13

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About the Authors

Han Entzinger is Professor of Migration and Integration Studies at Erasmus University

Rotterdam. In 2001 he was appointed Chair of Migration and Integration Studies at
Erasmus University Rotterdam, from which he (semi-)retired in 2012. From 2005-09
he chaired the Department of Sociology and from 2007-09 was Deputy Dean of the
Faculty of Social Sciences, both at Erasmus University.

From 2010-14 Professor Entzinger chaired the Board of Directors of IMISCOE, the
European Network of Research Institutes on Migration. From 1994-2002 he was
President of the Research Committee on Migration of the International Sociological
Association. He is also Co-Founder and former Director of the European Research Centre on Migration and
Ethnic Relations (Ercomer) at Utrecht University. He is Vice Chair of the Scientific Committee of the European
Union’s Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) in Vienna.

For several decades Professor Entzinger has published in many languages on issues related to international
migration, integration, and multiculturalism, with an emphasis on comparative policy studies. Many of
these publications are based on original research, mainly funded by the Netherlands Research Council, the
Netherlands government, and the European Commission.

Godfried Engbersen is Professor of Sociology at Erasmus University Rotterdam.

In 2007 he was elected member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences. He
is also Research Director of the Sociology Department at Erasmus University. His
current research activities focus on irregular migration, the relationship between
restrictive migration regimes and crime, and local and transnational citizenship. In
2014 he was appointed member of the Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR),
a high-level advisory body to the government of the Netherlands.

Professor Engbersen is the Dutch correspondent for the continuous Reporting System
on Migration (SOPEMI) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and has been a
member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences (KNAW) since 2007. He was an elected member
of the Dutch Advisory Commission on Alien Affairs (2001-09) and member of the general board of the
Amsterdam School for Social Science Research (ASSR). He chaired the KNAW committee on the Future
of Dutch Sociology (2003-06) that resulted in the report Working and Living Together: A Future for Dutch
Sociology (KNAW, 2006).

14 Rotterdam: A Long-Time Port of Call and Home to Immigrants

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