En Mémorial

http://www.citylab.com

Chinese restaurant in Paris, France
eugene.kaspersky.com

Hello Everyone:

Normally yours truly does not like to leave posts unfinished, however, the tragic events in Paris, France and Beirut, Lebanon dictate that blogger momentarily set aside a post on Cuban modernism and take up another subject.  Rather than use the entire post to express the shock, anger, and disgust yours truly feels, yours truly would prefer to take up a more constructive subject.  In this case, economic segregation and inequality in Europe for today's Richard Florida article for CityLab titled, "Economic Segregation and Inequality in Europe's Cities."

One of the mythologies of European cities is that people living in places such as Paris or London enjoy a better standard of living thanks to the welfare state and the long history of social democracies. In January, Mr. Florida published an article on a study he completed with his Martin Prosperity Institute on the correlation between inequality and economic growth. (http://www.citylab.com, Jan. 20, 2015)  The study looked at "...the connection between inequality and creativity juxtaposed America's low-road path-which combines high levels of creativity with high levels of inequality-with the high-road path of Scandinavian and Northern European nations, where high levels of creative competitiveness go along with with much lower levels of inequality."

Hamra Street
Beirut, Lebanon
greentravelersguide.com

Now, there is a new study of the thirteen top European cities including: London, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Oslo, Vienna, Athens, Riga..., that analyzes the serious growth in socio-economic inequality and economic segregation.  The study, titled Socio-Economic Segregation in European Capital Cities (segregationeurope.tudelft.nl), is part of a broader study on socio-economic segregation in Europe, which follows socio-economic inequality and segregation according to key markets of class including: income, occupational status, and education in these cities during a ten year study period-2001-11.

"The relationship between income inequality
and residential segregation"
city lab.com

The graph on the left is from the study and demonstrates "the relationship between income inequality (measured but the Gini coefficient) and residential segregation (measured by the index of dissimilarity) for 12 of these cities."  In short, both economic segregation and income inequality simultaneously rose for 9 out of 12 cities.  The exceptions to the simultaneous growth in economic segregation and inequality were Oslo, Amsterdam, and Tallinn.  Oslo and Tallinn showed economic growth but inequality did not; Amsterdam presented some decline in economic segregation during the study period due in part to middle-income families moving from inexpensive social housing developments.  Therefore, while economic segregation is often paired with inequality, this is not always the case.  The exception is Stockholm which mixes high rates of economic segregation and fairly low rates of inequality.

Gran Via
Madrid, Spain
southerngirltravels.com

When it comes to Europe's most economically segregated cities, Madrid beats London for the top spot.  Mr. Florida writes, "The study attributes this spike to the economic crisis in 2008 (which further cemented the locations of poor and wealth residents) and the late onset of gentrification."  In short, socio-economic segregation is growing in the Spanish capital and increasing in the suburban areas, where the upper classes reside, while the poor remain concentrated in Madrid's central districts.

In general, it is the advantaged groups that drive socio-economic segregation.  Surprised?  Let yours truly clarify this statement.  The study demonstrates that the more affluent group tend to be more separated than the less advantaged in two-thirds of the cities.  Mr. Florida writes, "This is similar to my own findings in the United States, where economic segregation is being driven by the locational prerogatives of the most advantaged classes." (http://www.citylab.com, Feb. 23, 2015).  Oddly, London is one of the few study sites where this is not true because of runaway gentrification and plutocratization of the city has resulted in the poor being concentrated in fewer and fewer districts.  His own 2013 analysis of the city's class stratums presented evidence that suggests the affluent have de facto colonized the central district, pushing the poor out further and further to the periphery.  (http://www.citylab.com, Nov. 5, 2013)

Street scene in Tallinn, Estonia
flickr.com

Race and ethnicity are also factors in socio-economic segregation, according to the study.  For example, in Tallinn, Estonia the occupational difference between minority and majority ethnic groups are mirrored in the housing disparities that separate the poor minority and wealthy majority demographic groups.  This also true in the United States.  However, the study infers that race and ethnicity still divide European urban centers, despite their different histories.

Richard Florida writes, "Urban scholars have long argued that even though racial and ethnic differences vary widely across cities and nations, they ultimately reinforce fundamental class divides."  The authors of the study caution against applying these phenomena for all cities.  They wrote,

In some cases...social distances between social classes within the category non-natives were bigger than social distances within the category natives.

Covent Garden Market
photograph-london.com

Overall, the study reaches the conclusion that the increasing divide is a by-product of globalization and economic structural shifts, which have "hollowed out the high-paying middle of the economy, divided economic classes, and sorted them into desired and undesired neighborhoods."  Further, the growing inequality and segregation are the result of changes in welfare and housing policies, which have not kept pace with the increasing economic stresses on cities and growing socio-economic divides.  In essence, "segregation and inequality are not just the a result of basic economic forces-they are also a consequence of policy choices."

Vigil held for the bombing victims in Beirut, Lebanon, 2015
nydailynews.com

Income inequality and economic segregation are the main issues facing our cities today, and the problematic challenge for cities is how to overcome them or, at least, how to deal with them in ways that do not impede the mechanism for innovation and economic growth.  Mayors and civic officials are on the vanguard of these complicated and complex challenge.  They have the means to affect change for the better.  However, they can not meet these challenges on their own.  Coping with economic segregation and income inequality requires a solid renewed commitment to a national urban policy.

Vigil held for the bombing victims in Paris, France, 2015
cnn.com

At the end of the day, none of these statistics or anecdotes mean anything to the injured and the families of the dead in Beirut, Paris, and across the globe.  We can sit here, in our cozy spaces, in front of our laptops, spewing out all sorts of reasons and rationale for why someone or someones would strap on an explosive vest with the intention of killing and maiming as many people as possible.  We could say that the perpetrators were alienated young people, stuck in an endless cycle of despair with little or no hope of upward mobility.  Truthfully, what ever reason you can find for why these acts of barbarism continue to take place matters not all to the people affected by the loss of loved one's life.  What matters to them is the intense emotional pain they feel when recalling the sight of seeing a family member, significant other, friend,  or co-worker on the ground.  There is no quick and easy solution to making things right in our cities so that everyone, regardless of race or ethnicity, have access to opportunities.  The only thing we have at the end of the day is our own will to go on, commit to do better.  That is what counts.