Part 1.
For instance, I cannot avoid Germany when I want to reach the West coast. I enjoy the journey. I try to also change the places where I stop along the way. Sometimes it leads to Dortmund, sometimes Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Cologne, or Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Nuremberg, or Munich. Or sometimes the days in Berlin areas.
But it’s not just about traveling through Germany. I have the sense that the country has a strong integration system. Germany is often cited as a place where migrant integration works better than in much of Europe.
What is visible in Germany is that the system is set up so that it is worthwhile for people to be part of it, while also preventing the formation of spatially segregated, marginalized areas. People in Germany are also more open, and origin or ethnicity does not play as strong a role in integration into society and the system.
I mean that in Germany there are no clearly separated marginalized areas, unlike in certain parts of France for example. In other words, Germany lacks the visibly segregated, marginalized neighborhoods or marginalization.
In certain parts of France or in the Czech Republic, ghettos itself emerge: in the banlieues or in Czechia, or in Slovakia, people sometimes live outside the system due to limited economic opportunities, housing constraints, identity-based segregation, or structural racism.
Part 2.
Not to leave the Benelux out, I have already written an article about Luxembourg economy, and I would also include the Western coasts. In the Netherlands, the natural coexistence is visible in the local communities. South Holland is very naturally diverse. The presence of “black culture” is also unmistakable. It is part of the character of the Western regions of Europe. In France, communities are also diverse, but there are areas of exclusion.
The West system encourages integration through economic opportunities and accessible social services, while urban planning avoids large, concentrated areas of poverty. People are generally open to migrants, and the emphasis is on participation and functioning within the system rather than background or origin.
This helps prevent the formation of ghettos and allows migrants to take part in society across multiple neighborhoods.
