Theory

• A key feature of cities in Asia, Africa and South America is the increasingly large wealth gap between residents with high and low incomes, known as economic inequality e.g. Mumbai - slums vs 27-storey home worth over $35 billion.
• People on high and low incomes seem to concentrate spatially - a form of social segregation, due to:

  • Housing - poorer groups have less choice
  • Changing environments - large houses converted into flats or student accommodation
  • Ethnic dimension - discrimination against ethnic groups force them to concentrate in low income areas
• Of the most deprived 10% of neighbourhoods in England (3284), 137 rank as highly deprived on six of the seven domains (income, employment, education, health, crime, barriers to housing and services, living environment) and are not evenly distributed throughout the UK.
• Inner city areas have traditionally been the most deprived urban neighbourhoods. The characteristics of this decline were caused by de-industrialisation in the second half of the twentieth century when unemployment became a greater problem. Population loss followed and the movement of younger skilled residents left behind an older, less skilled population.
• There is no clear geographical pattern to urban poverty today. It clearly exists but the image of a troubled inner core surrounded by affluent suburbs is outdated. High and low income areas today are found across city and suburb alike.
• The main driver of urban inequality is wealth. Richer cities like London tend to have much higher rates of inequality compared to consistent lower average wage areas.
• Strategies to reduce poverty and inequality

  • enforcing a living wage or providing an urban subsidy
  • provision of schools
  • supporting low-skilled workers who want to develop their abilities
  • access to affordable housing
  • greater provision of public transport
  • enforce minimum environmental standards
  • 'Fairness Commissions' (how local areas can address inequality e.g. Liverpool)