Margarita Alvarez, Alicia Brenes, Maite Burgueño, Alejandro Casas, Gustavo Machado, Leticia Musto, Beatriz Rocco1
2. Apuestas metodológicas: reflexiones desde la experiencia
There is no one database on the location of migrant groups in the UK. In order to conduct this research, there was a need to locate migrant groups in flood prone areas. This was achieved through using census data and a community study. ‘Country of birth’ census data provided information on migrant groups. The initial approach of locating migrants by combining ‘Country of birth’ data with flood warning areas was unsuccessful. Subsequently a community study was conducted (Figure 3.09). This involved identifying flood prone locations combined with ‘Country of birth’ data. 60 flood prone locations with potentially high migrant numbers were identified. Limitations included dated census data, and use of data for larger areas than those that flooded. Certain locations were excluded due to low ethnic diversity.
Figure 3.09 Community study approach to locating flood prone areas with migrant communities. Study sites were narrowed down based on the advice of local stakeholders and ward ethnicity data. The remaining locations were researched further at the local level. A number of locations were excluded based on the advice of key stakeholders. They suggested locations where there was ethnic diversity. There was a need to reinforce the information provided by key stakeholders. This was achieved through using ethnicity data and researching flood histories. Local knowledge combined with output area ethnicity data led to greater confidence that the suggested locations had migrant ethnic minority communities. The community research
approach allowed locations to be narrowed down from the national to the local level, and led to the selection of two flood prone study locations that potentially had migrant group diversity.
3.5.1 Future research: A viable method
The method of combining ‘country of birth’ census data with community research was successful in locating flood prone areas that potentially had migrant communities. The approach was time consuming due to the need to verify dated statistics, but as there is no one dataset which provides the location of migrant groups, this methodology was the most appropriate to obtain the data required.
The methodology may be extended based on improvements to the mapping of migrant data. The initial approach of creating a GIS map of flood warning areas against country of birth statistics was viable and required several datasets to be combined. This was a lengthy process, especially as there was no existing ‘Country of birth’ against geographic location map. Since the progress of this research, the ONS has developed an application through which an interactive map allows exploration of locations with the highest percentage of migrants as a group based on the percentage of people ‘Born in the UK’ (Figure 3.10). This is effectively what was attempted in this research, but the map produced was inconclusive due to there being too much data.
Figure 3.10 The percentage of British born people living in England 2011, with lighter areas (LADs) indicating a higher number of foreign born residents. The circled areas are the locations of the study
sites for this research (ONS, 2013c)
The application is easily accessible and can provide an indication of areas where there is a high migrant population in general. The map starts at Local Authority District level (LAD)
and can be made specific to Lower Super Output Area level (LSOA). If the research was repeated, this application would provide a starting point for researching areas with high migrant numbers, which could not be achieved in this research as there was too much data on the map, and thus different migrant groups had to be mapped individually. Flood prone areas would then be researched further based on the areas with high migrant numbers. Incidentally, based on this map (Figure 3.10) the final study locations for this research are in areas where there are high migrant numbers.
If further research was conducted focusing on specific migrant groups, recently developed ONS applications allowing ethnic groups to be mapped by location could be used (Figure 3.11). This is an updated and easier application of the GIS map of Indian migrants located in flood warning areas created for this research (Figure 3.0) and alongside flood warning area data and community research, it may be used to locate specific migrant group communities.
Figure 3.11 The percentage of individuals of Indian ethnicity living in England 2011, (ONS, 2013d) It is recognised that despite the development of mapping tools, the data would not be specific enough to highlight if migrants were located in flood risk areas. The maps would only provide an indication of where they may be located at LAD and LSOA level. The census data would still be dated and there may still be issues with individuals not completing the census survey, although lessons have been learnt from the 2001 census; preparation for the 2011 census involved information and engagement campaigns in diverse languages and migrant community organisations engaging with their communities to encourage people to complete the census. This was achieved through raising awareness of the census via events,
workshops and media sources, dispelling misconceptions about the census relating to confidentiality and fear that the data would be used to police immigration and employment issues and providing practical support in terms of helping people fill in and return their census forms (Camilo, 2011).
If the research was repeated, engagement approaches which may encourage higher census response rates amongst black and ethnic minority communities and the mapping tool applications would make it easier to identify locations with a high number of migrants, or specific migrant groups, but a community study involving local stakeholder knowledge and research would still need to be conducted to locate migrant groups at the local level. As there is no one database on the location of migrant groups in the UK, the successful methodology in this research has the potential to be developed further based on improvements to statistical applications and the continued use of community research to locate migrant groups.
The community study approach involved using census data and stakeholder knowledge to locate flood prone areas that potentially had migrant communities. There was still a need to locate migrant groups within the communities and engage with them in order to conduct the research and fulfil the research objectives. This was achieved through questionnaire surveys and one to one interviews as part of the community study and is discussed in detail in Chapter 4.