The Relationship between Immigrant Settlement and Housing Costs in Global German Cities

The article examines the formation of global German cities features, their place in the international economic system and functions in Germany. The economic sphere allows even small German cities to become global. Using the immigrants and foreigners’ settlement example in regions and housing prices distribution territorial intra-city differentiation is shown. Housing prices were collected by using a proven author’s algorithm. The “immigrants – housing prices” relation helps to correlate the city districts spatial features correspondence. There are seven global cities in the historically determined German system (just like in India, and more only in the USA and China). These are Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart and Cologne. It was found out that all cities are distinguished by a large number and share of immigrants and/or foreigners. In each city there are more than a third part of immigrant population. Immigrants have a significant impact on demographics, reducing the average age of the population. They often settle in more peripheral areas, near industrial or infrastructure facilities. There are also many foreigners from the EU countries in the cities. In general, expensive city centers were identified with a gradual decrease in housing costs in peripheral areas. The western parts of all cities are significantly more expensive. Prices have increased significantly in all cities, with historic city centers and commercial areas typically the most expensive. Of all the cities under the study, only Berlin has the largest share of immigrants in central areas with higher prices (this is due to the city’s history of division). In other cities, there is a matching of cheaper areas with higher housing costs. Urban centers experience a wide variety of prices and therefore an uneven distribution. The contrasts are particularly noticeable in Hamburg, while Munich is generally one of the most expensive cities.

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