Inequality and city size: An analysis for OECD functional urban areas

Castells‐Quintana, David; Royuela, Vicente; Veneri, Paolo

doi:10.1111/pirs.12520

Cited by 44 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Indeed, the increasing inequalities within cities in different parts of the world have prompted some to proclaim ‘the new urban crisis’ ( Florida, 2017 ). A consistent finding in the empirical literature is that the most prosperous cities are often the most unequal ( Castells-Quintana et al, 2020 ; Glaeser et al, 2009 ; Lee et al, 2016 ; Sassen, 2018 ; OECD, 2018b ). For example, London is seen as the UK’s economic success story.…”

Section: Introduction: Two Key Challengesmentioning

confidence: 66%

Rethinking the political economy of place: challenges of productivity and inclusion

Evenhuis

Lee

Martin

et al. 2021

Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society

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The global financial crisis of just over a decade ago exposed longer-term systemic problems in global capitalism of which two of the most prominent are the slowdown in the underlying trend rate of productivity growth, alongside a rise in economic and spatial inequalities in many advanced economies. The Covid-19 pandemic looks set to further amplify these problems. This Editorial begins by discussing the scale of the productivity slowdown and of the widening inequalities that have emerged, particularly with regard to their spatial dimension: that is how the uneven and slow development of productivity and rise in inequalities have played out across and within regions and cities. It then briefly considers underlying factors that lie behind these trends, including financialisation / financial globalization, the diminishing role of organised labour, segmentation of the labour market favouring workers who play a key role in financialisation, together with the increasing polarisation within societies according to skill and, crucially, the impact of changing industrial composition particularly as it relates to the rise of the high-tech sectors. The Editorial then examines in what ways the slowdown of productivity and widening of economic and spatial inequalities, may be interrelated, and questions the notion of any efficiency-equity trade-off. Lastly, it considers whether the ‘inclusive growth’ agenda can potentially reconcile the two ambitions of improving productivity performance and lessening inequalities, reflecting on what inclusive growth could mean, and what it could imply in terms of policy. Thus far, it appears that an inclusive growth agenda has only gained some traction at the subnational level, which seems to reflect – at least in part – attempts by cities and regions to address gaps in policy left by national governments.

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Section: Introduction: Two Key Challengesmentioning

confidence: 66%

Rethinking the political economy of place: challenges of productivity and inclusion

Evenhuis

Lee

Martin

et al. 2021

Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society

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show abstract

“…In line with modelling efforts (e.g. Behrens & Robert-Nicoud, 2014), empirically city size and density correlates with inequality: the larger the city, the more unequal it is (Baum-Snow & Pavan, 2014;Castells-Quintana, Royuela, & Veneri, 2020;Combes, Duranton, Gobillon, & Rouxe, 2012;Glaeser & Gottlieb, 2009;Haworth, Long, & Rasmussen, 1978;Stich, 1999). The precise sources of this pattern, however, are not equally well established.…”

Section: Not In Isolation: the Fallacy Of Ontological Cityismmentioning

confidence: 91%

Urban Advantage? Sustainable Consumption and Ontological Cityism Across the Urban Hierarchy

Lerpold

Sjöberg

2021

Sustainable Consumption and Production, Volume I

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Urban areas are often, and not without reason, portrayed as an opportunity to reduce environmental impacts: more effective use of land, better opportunities for the provision of public transport and less need on a per capita basis for investment in physical infrastructure. This is also the message of the literature on urban scaling. The very nature of the agglomeration economies that allow for economising on natural resources may, however, result in higher levels of per capita consumption. A major reason is that high density often translates into higher costs of space, in turn encouraging the concentration of high(er) productivity activities in major cities. As a result, spatial sorting occurs (e.g. with respect to educational attainment and incomes) and with it potentially also a differentiation of consumption patterns. In consequence, not just size and density, but also position in the urban hierarchy may need to be taken into account in assessing sustainability outcomes. To grasp the issue of urban sustainability, however, intra-urban differentiation too, will have to be considered in tandem with the inter-urban issues of boundary drawing for measurement—what we call “ontological cityism”. This is especially so if the focus shifts from the environmental to the social dimensions of sustainability, and if the trade-offs across the three pillars of sustainability are to be understood.

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“…There is ample evidence that, while inequalities between countries are declining as a result of fast economic growth in previously poor countries, inequalities within countries are on the rise. Cities both generate and reflect such rising inequality [ 20 , 21 ] and inequality generally increases with city size [ 22 , 23 ]. Marked differences in terms of wealth and income are especially pronounced in countries with weak welfare states.…”

Section: Building a City-level Databasementioning

confidence: 99%

An introduction to DUIA: The database on urban inequality and amenities

Ramos

Uitermark

2021

PLoS ONE

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This article introduces DUIA, the Database on Urban Inequality and Amenities. DUIA includes data on the socio-economic development and amenities of 86 cities. The database especially covers cities outside the West, providing new opportunities for comparative research in fields suffering from a dearth of data. DUIA addresses three concerns that have not been resolved by other databases on cities. First, we draw upon remote sensing derived data from the Atlas of Urban Expansion to more accurately define city boundaries. Second, we draw upon survey data stored in IPUMS (Integrated Public Use Microdata Series) to include extensive, harmonized, and disaggregated data. Third, we use open source software and share our scripts to ensure transparency and replicability. DUIA includes information on dwelling and household characteristics, educational attainment, ownership of assets and appliances, and access to amenities. We provide illustrative analyses on asset inequality and water access to demonstrate the potential for the database. Although we also identify several limitations, DUIA represents a step forward in the systematic study of inequality and amenities over time and across cities.

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Inequality and city size: An analysis for OECD functional urban areas

Cited by 44 publications

References 41 publications

Rethinking the political economy of place: challenges of productivity and inclusion

Rethinking the political economy of place: challenges of productivity and inclusion

Urban Advantage? Sustainable Consumption and Ontological Cityism Across the Urban Hierarchy

An introduction to DUIA: The database on urban inequality and amenities

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