Post-industrial Transitions in Superdiverse Cities

Multifaceted global migratory trajectories lead to transnational connections. These complex movements and exchanges, involving not only the circulation of people and goods, but also the practises and meanings associated with them, have a profound influence on European destination cities. As highlighted by Bousetta et al. (2018), cities are pivotal spaces in migration literature, acting as primary sites in which immigrants settle and induce social, economic, and political change. The focal point of this chapter is the simultaneous experience of post-industrial and demographic transitions in cities. The term “post-industrial transition” refers to a developmental stage in which the manufacturing sector of the economy is replaced by the service sector, as the latter generates more wealth than the former (Touraine, 1969). Within the scope of this chapter, the demographic transition is also evaluated as “diversification of diversity”, with respect to its understanding in sociology and demography as a shift towards lower birth and death rates and the general ageing of society (Hollinger, 2006). This process refers to the acceleration of the diversification of migrant groups, as well as diversification within these groups. The term “superdiversity”, coined by Vertovec (2007) encapsulates the increasing spread, speed, and scale of diversity.