Ethnicity as a Bridge Between Stated and Revealed Residential Preferences

Abstract

Comparing the stated with the revealed residential preferences enables us to understand the effects of residential dynamics of an undocumented population in relation to urban resources. The data hint that the living conditions of the undocumented populations are highly affected by intergroup's relations. Undocumented residents from the same groups efficiently implement their preferences by living with “friends”. This individual-based mechanism assured both landlords and dwellers as a minimal level of “friendliness” in their building. Other socio-demographic factors, such as high fertility rates and cultural residential tendencies leading to a preference for overcrowding, several families per apartment, support these gathering processes. Despite the rapid turnovers of people within the networks, shared ethnicity features motivate turnovers of flats within the community, means that the ability of the communal network to support its undocumented ‘friends' is not weakened. During the years, the intense bonding within these close-knit communities freezes the established residential patterns within the community.