According to immigration experts who met in Helsinki on Monday, residential areas should be constructed in such a way that different populations groups are mixed and separate concentrations of immigrants would not arise.
Hasan Habib, a coordinator of multi-cultural and international activities, has lived in Finland for 20 years, the last four in the Varissuo district of Turku where nearly 40% of the residents are of immigrant background.
"There may be many reasons for this, one is rental flats and one is that the price of semi-detached houses and flats as well are lower than elsewhere in Turku. Another reason that has to be considered is people of immigrant background, those who need social contact and want to live among people who they can interact with and whom they can also trust," says Hasan Habib.
An ethnic relations forum on Monday brought together experts in the fields of immigration, housing and city planning to look at how residential areas could be made more attractive in order to prevent this type of voluntary segregation.
Differences increasing
Helsinki University researcher Katja Vilkama says that such segregation in Finland is still at a modest level, but a process developing inequalities among residential areas has already begun.
"Here in Finland we really are very far from developing slums. These areas are physically in good shape, but it really is good to recognize the fact that differences are growing," says Vilkama.
According to these experts, in order to prevent ghettoization, cities should build residential areas where there is a balance of public housing, rental housing and both inexpensive and expensive housing for sale. This would counteract a concentration of social problems, unemployment and poverty in certain areas.