A number of residential areas in Denmark were once categorised as "ghettos", and later renamed "vulnerable areas". In order for an area to be categorised as such, a certain percentage of its residents must have a refugee or "non-Western" migrant background, a low income, a low education level, and a weak attachment to the labour market, and it must have an above-average crime rate.

Young people growing up in these "vulnerable" areas officially have the same access to higher education as other young people in the country, as education is free in Denmark, but the social heritage (family context and history) effect is such that a young person is unlikely to attend or graduate from university if their parents did not progress to an education level beyond primary school.

However, since 2000, the proportion of 29-year old women with a non-Western background who complete higher education has risen from 9% to 42%, bringing them to the same level as the general population. Similar numbers can also be seen for young men in this group, but the change for them has not been as significant as for women: the percentage of these young men who complete higher education has risen from 10% to 25% percent over the last 20 years.

Among the general population less than half of all children grow up with one or two parents who have no education or no job, unlike the majority of children living in vulnerable areas, where this is true of the majority. Children in "vulnerable" areas, therefore, clearly progress further than other children.

According to researchers, such positive development can mainly be explained by the social support measures implemented in "vulnerable" areas, supported by state funding and social housing companies. Holistic plans have over time been established in 68 areas (only 21 of which are today deemed "vulnerable"), to help children and young people with homework, finding a job in their spare time and addressing family issues. Local social workers and volunteers also arrange excursions, sports activities, and cooking classes, and initiate discussions about culture and democracy.

22-year old Halia Rahimi, who grew up in the "vulnerable" area of Finlandsparken, Vejle, was offered a part-time job in a library bus by a municipal project, which later led to a job as a football coach and consultant in a local football club. Halia is now living in Aarhus and studying political science, and said of her experience: "Being active in this club and being paid for coaching gave me a chance to prove that a woman can be a leader. It also gave me a lot of understanding of other cultures and people, so it has been a kind of personal development for me."