Maloutas, Th. and Fujita, K. (eds): Residential Segregation in Comparative Perspective


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L I T E R A T U R E

Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 62 (1) (2013) pp. 63–67.

Maloutas, Th. and Fujita, K. (eds): Residential Segregation in Comparative Perspective. 
Making Sense of Contextual Diversity. City and Society Series, Ashgate, Farnham, UK, 
2012. 329 p.

The main question of this book is whether globalization has increased the spatial segre-
gation in our cities, and if it has, in which respect. Focusing on the last 30–40 years, the 
authors investigate 11 metropolises worldwide in order to analyze the infl uencing factors 
of residential segregation. The case studies describing a Latin-American, six European, 
and four Asian cities give 11 diff erent answers to the original question. (Though the US 
cities are oft en cited as a classic case of segregation, no North-American metropolis was 
included in the volume.) On the basis of this rich overview of the diff erent urban experi-
ences in social and spatial segregation patt erns and rationales, the editor Maloutas, Th. 
claims that not just globalization is responsible for segregation.

One of the main conclu-
sions is that there is a strong 
need for a model reflecting 
contextual diversity in the 
study of urban residential 
segregation. The model devel-
oped by Fujita, K. emphasizes 
the relevance of social equality 
and spatial segregation and it 
pays special att ention to the 
relation between them. 

The cities discussed in the 
volume are divided into fi ve 
groups according to the de-
gree of segregation and ine-
quality. The forces which have 
an impact on residential seg-
regation and institutions and 
either intensify or counteract 
social inequality are scruti-
nized in each group. Three 
cities (Beijing, Istanbul and 
Sao Paolo) belong to the fi rst 
group in which spatial segre-
gation is combined with high 
social inequality. The case of 
Beij ing shows that the role of 
the state, namely the central-
ized distribution of dwellings, 
contributes to massive spatial 
segregation (which already 



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existed in the past). In Beij ing education, jobs and social services are available only for the 
registered inhabitants, while the migrants from rural areas (i.e. fl oating population) who 
live in the peripheral areas are very much excluded. Logan, J. L. and Li, L. the authors of 
the study on Beij ing argue that inequality is maintained by the Chinese bureaucracy and 
not by market economy or globalization. 

The level of segregation in Istanbul has not declined over the last few decades, only the 
characters of the segregated groups have changed: the classic cleavage between the Muslim 
and non-Muslim groups shift ed toward a split between the high and the low income groups 
in the modern Turkey. Since the non-Muslim population has disappeared, the migrants 
from rural areas have become the segregated low income groups living in squatt ers on the 
periphery of the city. As the author argues, segregation in Istanbul is maintained by state 
clientelism. The property rights remain informal, the patron-client relations overthrow the 
ineff ective laws and rules. Eventually, slum clearance programs give a chance to the popula-
tion of squatt ers to move to middle class quarters, but only a very small part of them can 
participate in these programs, the majority remains in place as Ta an-Kok, T. claims. 

Sao Paolo as a typical Latin-American metropolis is traditionally highly segregated: the 
urban poor live in the periphery, the middle and the higher classes in the center and in 
the gated communities. The democratic changes in the 1990s broadened the availability of 
health institutions, but did not result in signifi cant improvements in other segments like 
education, housing, jobs, etc. According to Marques, E., the separation of social classes is 
maintained by the patron-client relations; neither democratization nor global process have 
changed it. Those cases are similar to the classic American patt ern, but there is also a major 
diff erence: in the United States the welfare system exists and public services are available 
for everyone at a low level.

The second group consists of two cities: the moderately separated but highly unequal 
Paris and Budapest. In Paris, the traditional diff erences between the high status and the work-
ing-class quarters have narrowed due to the process of gentrifi cation since the 1980s. As 
Préteceille, E. argues, Paris is far from completely segregated and most of its quarters are 
rather mixed. Nevertheless, there are some low status areas inhabited by groups of migrants 
which make a challenge. The welfare state is not eff ective enough to solve their problems 
despite the reforms and anti-discrimination programs. The public rental system keeps 
low income groups in the cheap districts where services and jobs are oft en not available, 
thus the inequality is reproduced. In Budapest segregation did not start with the change of 
regime, it existed well before the socialist time and its basic patt erns are inherited from the 
19th century. According to Kovács, Z., the housing privatization and the radical transforma-
tion of the local public administration resulted in signifi cant changes in the socio-spatial 
structure and increased the level of residential segregation in the city.

Copenhagen, the only city which belongs to the third group, is separated but equal. 
Similarly to Paris, traditional low and high status quarters have co-existed here for cen-
turies. The welfare state itself also contributes to the preservation of the traditional segre-
gation patt ern through fi nancing the social rental dwellings. However, due to the highly 
developed welfare system, the spatial separation is not combined with social inequality 
as Andersen, H.T. claims. In the Danish capital, public services and the highly developed 
education lower the level of segregation. The coordinated capitalism and the welfare state 
can protect the most vulnerable social groups, even if the spatial segregation exists because 
of the concentration of social dwellings. 

The fourth group is the opposite of the previous model; it consists of non-separated but 
unequal cities, Hong Kong, Athens and Madrid, According to Yip, N., Hong Kong inherited its 
city structure from the colonial past. The substantial public housing sector att racts people 



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not only from the lower class, but also from the middle and higher strata. This explains 
why the diff erent social classes are spatially so mixed (except for the narrow upper-class) 
in the whole city. The lack of spatial segregation does not mean that diff erences between 
the social groups do not exist or are insignifi cant. The availability of the services is unequal 
what is true for the Mediterranean cities, as well. 

In Athens, the low level of spatial segregation is the result of the increasing social mobil-
ity combined with low spatial mobility. The explanation of the latt er is the Mediterranean 
family-centered welfare model and the high rate of home ownership. The construction of 
new residential areas all over the city also makes the neighbourhoods mixed.

The segregation has also declined in Madrid where the economic growth and the real 
estate boom have shaped the city more mixed over the last two decades. Similarly to 
Athens, the young upwardly mobile groups have sett led close to their parents in the work-
ing class neighbourhoods in compliance with the South European family-centered welfare 
model. The increasing international migration also has an anti-segregation impact: the 
newcomers live in mixed quarters due to the lack of social housing as Domínguez, M. et 
al. concluded.

The last group of cities includes two Asian metropolises (Taipei and Tokyo) where the 
level of spatial and social segregation is very low. The case of the Taiwanese capital repre-
sents the infl uence of urban policies on segregation. Urban regeneration projects like the 
construction of a new governmental district, the renovation of old neighbourhoods have 
turned Taipei into a multi-pole metropolis and they have had a considerable eff ect on social 
mix in the city. Besides urban planning and policy, the high and increasing proportion of 
the middle class is another important explanatory factor which is an outcome of the gov-
ernment’s economic policy, the state support to the small business networks. Those who 
cannot aff ord to live in Taipei city usually move to the periphery or other towns, as Wang, 
C-H. and Li, C-H. claim. 

In Tokyo, the developmental state is also an important factor, its institutions like the 
compressed wage system, the companies functioning as communities keep the segregation 
at a low level. The urban structure of Tokyo has also been formed by the real estate booms 
and busts over the last decades; the central districts have become a very high valued area. 
The equality in Tokyo means that there is no correlation between the land value and the 
occupation groups. According to authors (Fujita, K and Hill, R.C.), all the quarters are 
socially integrated, the education and the services are available for all.

The studies of eleven diff erent cities do not support the central hypothesis that globali-
zation results in similar urban development and segregation patt ern all over the world. 
They rather suggest that the role of the institutions, local and national politics, regionalism 
have remained important. The basic patt erns of segregation are relatively stable every-
where despite the changes which have occurred in the economy and society over the last 
few decades. 

Balázs SZABÓ