From Segregation to the Mainstream: Childhood Neighborhoods of Immigrants and their Descendants in France and Sweden

Although there is a considerable body of research on immigrant spatial assimilation, there is a lack of comparative studies that evaluate whether differences across contexts and outcomes are genuine, or merely a product of different research designs. In response, we carry out a comprehensive analysis of childhood neighborhood contexts across multiple generations, comparing four spatial outcomes across two national contexts: France and Sweden. Our approach not only generates new evidence for both settings but also assesses the intergenerational development, multidimensionality, and generalizability of spatial assimilation. Our results provide clear evidence that spatial assimilation is occurring simultaneously across multiple domains in both France and Sweden. However, key differences emerge: in Sweden, neighborhood disadvantage for non-European immigrants and their children is initially pronounced but diminishes significantly in later generations, while in France, these disadvantages, although initially smaller, persist among the grandchildren of non-European immigrants.