Negotiating “Left‐Behindness” and Migration‐Related Diversity in (New) Arrival Spaces

Places “left behind” often face socio‐economic downturn, demographic decline, and marginalisation resulting from uneven development. Yet these places are no longer only points of departure; they increasingly function as arrival areas for international migrants. Building on growing work on migrant settlement patterns away from large cities, this article investigates arrival neighbourhoods across Germany through the lens of “left‐behindness." Based on 90 interviews from eight German neighbourhoods, we analyse how “left‐behindness” shapes and intersects with migrant arrival in everyday life and local governance. Using “left‐behindness” as an analytical lens, we explore three interconnected arenas: (1) managing arrival under conditions of scarcity, (2) making sense of place through interpretations of migration and decline, and (3) everyday coexistence and contestation. We show how structural constraints, symbolic representations, and social dynamics reinforce each other, shaping both challenges and possibilities of arrival. The article argues that “left‐behindness” is best understood not as a spatial category but as a relational and processual condition highlighting uneven development and how challenges of migration‐related diversity are locally negotiated and contested.