Does segregation reduce socio-spatial mobility? Evidence from four European countries with different inequality and segregation contexts

The neighbourhood in which people live reflects their social class and preferences, so studying socio-spatial mobility between neighbourhood types gives insight into the openness of spatial class structures of societies and into the ability of people to leave disadvantaged neighbourhoods. In this paper we study the extent to which people move between different types of neighbourhoods by socio-economic status in different inequality and segregation contexts in four European countries: Sweden, the Netherlands, the UK (England and Wales), and Estonia. The study is based on population registers and census data for the 2001–2011 period. For England and Wales, which has long had high levels of income inequalities and high levels of socio-economic segregation, we find that levels of mobility between neighbourhood types are low and opportunities to move to more socio-economically advantaged neighbourhoods are modest. In Estonia, which used to be one of the most equal and least segregated countries in Europe, and now is one of the most unequal countries, we find high levels of mobility, but these reproduce segregation patterns and it is difficult to move to less deprived neighbourhoods for those in the most deprived neighbourhoods. In the Netherlands and Sweden, where income inequalities are the smallest, it is the easiest to move from the most deprived to less deprived neighbourhoods. The conclusion is that the combination of high levels of income inequalities and high levels of spatial segregation tend to lead to a vicious circle of segregation for low-income groups, where it is difficult to undertake upward socio-spatial mobility. 人们居住的街区反映了他们的社会阶层和偏好，因此研究街区类型之间的社会空间流动可以洞察社会空间阶级结构的开放性以及人们离开贫困街区的能力。在本文中，我们研究了四个欧洲国家：瑞典、荷兰、英国（英格兰和威尔士）和爱沙尼亚的不同不平等和隔离背景下人们在不同类型街区（按社会经济地位划分）之间流动的程度。该研究以2001 - 2011年期间的人口登记和人口普查数据为基础。在长期以来收入不平等和社会经济隔离程度较高的英格兰和威尔士，我们发现不同街区类型之间的流动性水平较低，而且流向社会经济福祉较高的街区的机会也不大。在爱沙尼亚（曾经是欧洲最平等和最少隔离的国家之一，现在是最不平等的国家之一），我们发现流动性很高，但这些流动会复制隔离模式，并且那些最贫困街区的居民很难流动贫困程度较低的地方。在收入不平等最小的荷兰和瑞典，人们最容易从最贫困的街区流动到贫困程度较低的街区。结论是，高度收入不平等和高水平的空间隔离相结合，往往导致低收入群体的隔离恶性循环，使这种群体难以实现向上的社会空间流动。