Income Inequality and Residential Segregation in European Cities

Abstract

Basedonextensiveresearchwithdistinguished scholars within the book project ‘Socioeconomic Segregation in European Capital Cities’, this chapter summarizes the key trends in income inequalityand socioeconomic segregationin Europe. We draw our data from the two last census rounds, and we focus on the most common indicators of incomeinequality(Gini Index) and residential segregation(DissimilarityIndex). We find that levels of residential segregation grew between the two last censuses in most of the cities included in our study. Changes in residential segregation follow changes in income inequality with a time lag, and it tends to happen in both directions. Low levels of income inequality relate to low levels of segregation after 10 years, and high levels of inequality relate to high levels of segregation after 10 years.

Estonian population and regional development during the last 30 years—back to the small town?

“…Spatial segregation in terms of wealth and ethnicity is on the rise in Europe. Speculation on real estate prices forces blue‐collar workers out of the city centers and areas with better reputations, often leading to a reduction in the quality of services or even their discontinuation (Tammaru et al, 2016).…”

The ‘European City’ at the Crossroads: Four Analytical Elements for Understanding Convergence and Differentiation

“…In this vein, the growing diversification of cities along socio‐economic and socio‐political indicators challenges the analytical homogeneity that a European city model or a welfare regime lens might produce (Ranci 2011; Tammaru et al . 2016). For example, Amsterdam and Vienna – which are both characterized by corporatist welfare policies and unitary housing systems – exhibit different forms of occupational and residential segregation, due to their distinctive urban regimes, spatial organizations and migration trajectories (Kazepov and Verwiebe 2021; Boterman and van Gent 2022).…”

“…In contrast, the ‘paradox of post‐socialist segregation’ – that is, the survival of socialist regulatory mechanisms and slower privatization – has engendered a rather smooth shift towards market‐oriented regulation in some cities of Central and Eastern Europe, for example, Budapest and Prague (see Tammaru et al . 2016).…”

Regional disparities of Immigration-related conflict risks: the case of Estonia

“…In the capital, Tallinn, approximately 53% of the population is of ethnic Estonian descent [10]. Ethnic segregation within the capital has increased notably, with the dissimilarity index rising from 31 in 1989 to 44 in 2019 (on the scale from 0 to 100 total segregation [11].…”