Internal migration and residential segregation of immigrant populations in three major Spanish cities and their metropolitan areas (2004-2011)

Juan Galeano, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Andreu Domingo, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Albert Sabater, University of St Andrews

Introduction: During the 2000s Spain became the European country with the largest net absolute migration in the EU, lagging only behind the USA worldwide. The location of employment opportunities, along with the importance of overseas flows in the Spanish immigration boom, turned the municipalities of Madrid and Barcelona into gateway cities for international migration. Along with those two, Valencia also became an important spot of immigration. In terms of internal migration, these three cities have also played a major role in the redistribution of immigrants across their metropolitan areas, but keeping also a close population-exchange relationship between each other. The aim of this paper is threefold: first, it examines the process of settlement of principal foreign-born populations in each of these municipalities by measuring the degree of residential segregation. Second, it assesses the demographic characteristics of the population that embodies internal migration flows between the municipalities of Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, and between these municipalities and their metropolitan areas. Third, it explores the impact of the economic crisis in both, the settlement process and internal migration of foreign-born population. Data: We use migration flows and population data between 2004 and 2011 derived from Municipal Registers (and released annually by the National Statistic Institute) to analyze movement and settlement of international immigrants. Results: The preliminary results allow us to confirm a general decrease of the degree of residential segregation of immigrant populations in all three municipalities, with particular exceptions. In terms of internal migration, the crisis period (2008-2011) has meant a decrease of the migratory intensity between these municipalities for all population groups, as well as a recentralization of flows directed to Madrid and Barcelona.