South Asian and Caribbean Ethnic Minority Housing Choice in Britain

The paper deals with choice and constraint in ethnic minority housing in Britain. It argues that the interpretation of patterns has changed from one in which minorities were viewed as powerless victims of racist discriminatory constraint, to one in which they are seen as exercising a greater degree of autonomy. Indian and Pakistani housing tenure is shown to have great similarities in terms of owner-occupation but to diverge greatly in terms of house type and location. Bangladeshis and Caribbeans are shown to share similarities in terms of socioeconomic class and housing tenure patterns, but to differ strongly in terms of the reasons for their high concentrations in council housing and also in the locations in which they live and their trends in terms of segregation. Bangladeshis and Pakistanis are shown to have similar socioeconomic profiles, but to differ in tenure and house types. Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are shown to have similar family structures but to differ in house types. The housing patterns of Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Caribbeans in Britain owe more to ethnicity and culture than to race.