Skilled international migrants and urban structure in Western Europe

The few existing empirical studies of high-status migrants in Western European cities suggest that classical urban models describing and explaining the segregation of immigrant groups in the city do not apply to these movers. When compared to low-status movers of the recent past, high-status movers display certain marked differences, particularly in the presence of dependants from the outset and in voluntary extensive employer involvement in housing provision or search, but there are also similarities in their restriction to the privately-rented housing sector. The characteristics and location of high-status migrants and of gastarbeiter in Vienna are here compared, demonstrating that there is a need for new urban models to deal with high-status migrant settlement in Western European cities.