Socio-Economic Segregation in European Capital Cities (original) (raw)
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Growing inequalities in Europe, even in the most egalitarian countries, are a major challenge threatening the sustainability of urban communities and the competiveness of European cities. Surprisingly, though, there is a lack of systematic and representative research on the spatial dimension of rising inequalities. This gap is filled by our book project Socio-Economic Segregation in European Capital Cities: East Meets West, with empirical evidence from Amsterdam, Athens, Budapest, London, Madrid, Milan, Oslo, Prague, Riga, Stockholm, Tallinn, Vienna and Vilnius. This introductory chapter outlines the background to this international comparative research and introduces a multi-factor approach to studying socio-economic segregation. The chapter focuses on four underlying universal structural factors: social inequalities, global city status, welfare regime and the housing system. Based on these factors, we propose a hypothetical ranking of segregation levels in the thirteen case study cities. As the conclusions of this book show, the hypothetical ranking and the actual ranking of cities by segregation levels only match partly; the explanation for this can be sought in context-specific factors which will be discussed in-depth in each of the case study chapters.
The Socio-Economic Segregation in European Capital Cities: East Meets West project investigates changing levels of socio-economic segregation in 13 major European cities: Amsterdam, Budapest, Vienna, Stockholm, Oslo, London, Vilnius, Tallinn, Prague, Madrid, Milan, Athens and Riga. The two main conclusions of this major study are that the levels of socio-economic segregation in European cities are still relatively modest compared to some other parts of the world but that the spatial gap between poor and rich is widening in all capital cities across Europe. Segregation levels in the East of Europe started at a lower level compared to the West of Europe, but the East is quickly catching up, although there are large differences between cities. Four central factors were found to play a major role in the changing urban landscape in Europe: welfare and housing regimes, globalisation and economic restructuring, rising economic inequality and historical development paths. Where state intervention in Europe has long countered segregation, (neo) liberal transformations in welfare states, under the influence of globalisation, have caused an increase in inequality. As a result, the levels of socio-economic segregation are moving upwards. If this trend were to continue, Europe would be at risk of slipping into the epoch of growing inequalities and segregation where the rich and the poor will live separate lives in separate parts of their cities, which could seriously harm the social stability of our future cities.
Growing inequalities in Europe, even in the most egalitarian countries, are a major challenge threatening the sustainability of urban communities and the competive- ness of European cities. Surprisingly, though, there is a lack of systematic and representative research on the spatial dimension of rising inequalities. This gap is filled by our book project Socio-Economic Segregation in European Capital Cities: East Meets West, with empirical evidence from Amsterdam, Athens, Budapest, London, Madrid, Milan, Oslo, Prague, Riga, Stockholm, Tallinn, Vienna and Vilnius. This introductory chapter outlines the background to this interna- tional comparative research and introduces a multi-factor approach to studying socio-economic segregation. The chapter focuses on four underlying universal structural factors: social inequalities, global city status, welfare regime and the housing system. Based on these factors, we propose a hypothetical ranking of segregation levels in the thirteen case st...
Socio-Economic Segregation in European Capital Cities: Increasing Separation between Poor and Rich
Increasing Separation between Poor and Rich * Socio-economic inequality is on the rise in major European cities as are the worries about that, since this development is seen as threatening social cohesion and stability. Surprisingly, relatively little is known about the spatial dimensions of rising socioeconomic inequality. This paper builds on a study of socio-economic segregation in twelve European cities: Amsterdam, Athens, Budapest, London, Madrid, Oslo, Prague, Riga, Stockholm, Tallinn, Vienna, and Vilnius. Data are used from national censuses and registers for the years 2001 and 2011. The main conclusion is that socio-economic segregation in Europe has grown. This paper develops a rigorous multi-factor approach to understand segregation and links it to four underlying universal, partially overlapping, structural factors: social inequalities, globalization and economic restructuring, welfare regimes, and housing systems. The paper provides an in-depth discussion of these factors to come to a better understanding of the differences between the hypothesized and actual segregation levels measured. It is suggested that introducing time-lags between structural factors and segregation outcomes improve the theoretical model.
Urban Geography, 2021
The purpose of this study is to compare socioeconomic segregation patterns and levels in Brussels, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Oslo, and Stockholm with uniform measurements. Socioeconomic segregation is a persistent reality in European cities that may have negative effects on social cohesion and individual outcomes. Previous research has been hampered by conceptual and methodological shortcomings, preventing comparable studies of segregation. We use harmonized datasets from 2011 containing geocoded indicators based on a nearest-neighbors approach, allowing for comparable measures of socioeconomic segregation at multiple scales. Our analyses offer an unprecedented comparison of patterns and levels of socio-spatial inequalities in European capitals. Using maps, segregation indices and percentile plots, we find that for all cities, the level of segregation by affluence is much larger than that of poverty. Macro-scale poverty segregation is most prominent in Stockholm and Brussels, and quite low in Amsterdam. At microscales, Brussels and Stockholm stand out with very high concentrations of poverty at the local level. In such poor neighborhoods, there are hardly any non-poor, indicating high levels of polarization. Macro-scale segregation by affluence is most pronounced in Oslo. Differences in levels and patterns are interpreted in the light of their particular welfare regimes, housing systems, area-based policies and migration dynamics.
Cassiers & Kesteloot 2012 Socio-spatial Inequalities and Social Cohesion in European Cities
2012
This paper addresses the increasing socio-spatial inequalities in European cities and their impact on the possibilities for fostering social cohesion. Many policy programmes tackle spatial unevenness in order to build more cohesive communities. These policies have some impact, but their effect on reducing inequalities at city level is limited. Therefore, an important question is how the overall socio-spatial organisation of European cities affects social cohesion and the capacity to form an urban community able to decide on a common future. First, the complex relation between present-day societal and spatial dynamics is discussed, asserting that it produces segregation. The second part reflects on how segregation is regarded in terms of social cohesion. Many authors stress the social innovative capacities within segregated areas. However, European cities display different socio-spatial structures. How these structures influence negotiation processes between different social groups is poorly treated. The last part of the paper addresses this issue.
Socio-spatial Inequalities and Social Cohesion in European Cities
Urban Studies, 2012
This paper addresses the increasing socio-spatial inequalities in European cities and their impact on the possibilities for fostering social cohesion. Many policy programmes tackle spatial unevenness in order to build more cohesive communities. These policies have some impact, but their effect on reducing inequalities at city level is limited. Therefore, an important question is how the overall socio-spatial organisation of European cities affects social cohesion and the capacity to form an urban community able to decide on a common future. First, the complex relation between present-day societal and spatial dynamics is discussed, asserting that it produces segregation. The second part reflects on how segregation is regarded in terms of social cohesion. Many authors stress the social innovative capacities within segregated areas. However, European cities display different socio-spatial structures. How these structures influence negotiation processes between different social groups i...
The Urban Book Series
The book “Urban Socio-Economic Segregation and Income Inequality: a Global Perspective” investigates the link between income inequality and residential segregation between socio-economic groups in 24 large cities and their urban regions in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. Author teams with in-depth local knowledge provide an extensive analysis of each case study city. Based on their findings, the main results of the book can be summarised as follows. Rising inequalities lead to rising levels of socio-economic segregation almost everywhere in the world. Levels of inequality and segregation are higher in cities in lower income countries, but the growth in inequality and segregation is faster in cities in high-income countries, which leads to a convergence of global trends. In many cities the workforce is professionalising, with an increasing share of the top socio-economic groups. In most cities the high-income workers are moving to the centre or to a...