An Analysis of the Choice of Housing for Immigrant Workers Compared to Non-Immigrant Workers in Tehran

According to the theory of life cycles, the choice of housing and subsequent movement of people are influenced by several factors including the social and economic status of households. Migration is one of the conditions that are important in the selection of housing in the subset of social and economic status as a difference between resident and migrant occupational groups and the difference between the first and second generation of immigrants. Tehran, as the capital, has been involved with the issue of immigration for many years. The analysis of migration statistics from the 1950s to the 2010s shows that in recent decades, unlike in the 1950-1960s, the dominant pattern of migration in Tehran has changed from the rural-urban pattern to the city-city. Therefore, it seems that the recent group of immigrants who migrated from small cities have detectable differences in their skills and education level compared to the first group of immigrants who migrate from rural areas. Therefore, the subject of the research is to identify the differences in the choice of housing in the occupational group of workers between migrants and residents in Tehran. Following the research goals, we separate workers into two subgroups; skilled and not-skilled workers, simultaneously they have been divided into two groups of migrant and non-migrant. Based on this, the main question is set as follows: Is migration an influencing factor in the choice of housing for labor groups in Tehran? In other words, is immigration more effective in the choice of housing for labor groups or they're belonging to the considered occupational group? The pattern of housing selection is defined as a logit regression function, and the research data is done as a secondary analysis of the neighborhood quality monitoring plan in Tehran. The results show that migration is not an effective factor in the choice of the neighborhood in worker groups. According to two indicators: the per capita built-up area and building age, migrant groups are in a worse condition than non-migrant workers. The difference in the ownership index in the group of skilled migrant workers shows a clear pattern of behavior that seems to be resorted to creating continuity of residence in the metropolis. In a situation where the city of Tehran directs its population overflow to the surrounding satellite cities and villages, the group of skilled migrant workers who have moved to Tehran with financial resources and the possibility of obtaining better job opportunities in the metropolitan pass the other. Therefore, skilled immigrant workers whose migration continues and who have been able to achieve job stability tend to reduce their housing costs with a higher ownership rate, even if it is at the cost of living in a residential unit with smaller built-up and higher building age. Skilled migrant workers prefer to choose a lower-quality house, but by changing the ownership pattern, they increase the chance of continuing to live in Tehran.