Cities, Economic Inequality and Justice Reflections and Alternative Perspectives

Increasing economic inequality in cities, and the spatial translation of that into more segregated neighbourhoods, is top of the political agenda in developed countries. While the overall living standards have increased in the last century, the focus has now shifted from poverty to economic differences, with a particular focus on the gap between the very poor and the (ultra-)rich.The authors observe a common view among policy-makers and researchers alike: that urban-economic inequality and segregation are increasing; that this increase is bad; and that money and people (in the case of segregation) need to be redistributed in response. In six compact chapters, this book enriches and broadens the debate. Chapters bring together the literature on the social effects of economic inequality and segregation and question whether there are sizable effects and what their direction (positive or negative) is. The often conflated concepts of economic inequality (and segregation) and social injustice is disentangled and the moral implications are reflected on. The book is essential reading for students and academics of Planning Theory, Planning Ethics, Urban Geography, Urban Economics, Economic Geography and Urban Sociology.

List of illustrationsAcknowledgementsChapter 1: Introducing the book1.1 Reflecting on the current debate1.2 The contribution and the limitations of this book1.3 OutlineChapter 2: Causes of urban-economic inequality and segregation2.1 Macro processes and inequality2.2 Inequality between cities 2.3 Growing inequalities in cities2.4 Economic segregation in citiesChapter 3: Reflecting on the measurement3.1 How to measure inequality?3.1.1 The Gini coefficient3.1.2 Limits to the scope3.2 How to measure segregation?3.2.1 The dissimilarity index3.2.2 Sensitivity to measurement choices3.2.3 Limits to the scope3.3 Inequality and segregation of what?3.3.1 Wage, income or capital3.3.2 From gross incomes to standard of living3.4 A dynamic perspective on inequality and segregationChapter 4: Reflecting on the (negative) societal impact 4.1 The negative impact of economic inequality4.1.1 Effects on economic growth4.1.2 Health and social effects4.2 The negative impact of economic segregation4.2.1 Mechanisms underlying neighbourhood effects4.2.2 Identification of neighbourhood effects4.2.3 From individual effects to city level effectsChapter 5: Reflecting on the moral implications5.1 Equality and distributional justice5.2 The pie metaphor5.3 Good and bad economic inequality5.4 The impracticability of aiming for economic equality 5.5 The same or enough? About the moral relevance of economic inequality 5.6 The moral relevance of (economic) segregation5.7 Reflecting on the material dimension of economic inequality and segregationChapter 6: Reflecting on urban policy6.1 Summary of the book6.2 Redistribution of money6.3 Redistribution of peopleGlossaryIndex

Edwin Buitelaar, PhD, is a professor of land and real estate development at Utrecht University and a senior researcher of urban development at the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. Anet Weterings, PhD, is a senior researcher of regional economic development at the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency.Roderik Ponds, PhD, is a senior researcher at Atlas voor Gemeenten, and a lecturer on Urban Economics at TIAS Business School.