Naar een verklaring voor stedelijke ongelijkheid. Een model gebaseerd op bestaande theorieën en een empirische illustratie

Samenvatting

Towards a explanation of urban inequality. In the debate on urban inequality, Sassen’s theory on social polarisation and Wilson’s theory on spatial mismatch have received much attention. Where Sassen highlights the decline of the middle classes, Wilson focuses on the upgrading of urban labour markets. In this paper we argue that both theories may be valid, but that they have to be put in a more extended theoretical framework. Of central importance are institutional arrangements, membership of different ethnic groups and networks, and place specific characteristics rooted in local socio-economic histories. As a first empirical illustration of our model, we use data on the labour markets of Amsterdam and Rotterdam and show that different forms of inequality can be found both in economic sectors and within ethnic groups. The model we present could be used both to reinterpret existing data and as an analytical framework for the analysis of different forms of urban inequality.