De ongelijke stad

Social (spatial) inequality appears to be increasing in many cities across the globe, and also in Europe and in the Netherlands. Formerly rather equal societies, such as Sweden and the Netherlands, are currently confronted with much higher levels of socioeconomic inequality, potentially also resulting in increasing spatial inequality. In this paper we address these dynamics, with a special focus on Europe and particularly on Amsterdam. We refer to a range of structural and institutional factors that help understand the processes towards higher levels of social spatial inequality, and also pay attention to the potential effects of the developments that have been described. It is concluded that many governments express an intention to reduce the levels of social spatial segregation. However, we gauge that few governments will actually intervene in the structural and institutional dynamics behind the processes described. Instead, a much more pragmatic type of policy may currently be the best to expect as an effort to stay away from the most negative impacts of increasing social spatial inequality.