The increased research and policy interest in social exclusion has included a focus on the concentration of disadvantage within cities. The role of neighbourhoods in the dynamics of social exclusion is consequently receiving greater attention. This paper reports the results of a major European...

This paper contributes to the literature on obtaining unbiased estimates of neighborhood effects, explored in the context of a centralized social welfare state. We employ a longitudinal database comprised of all working age adults in metropolitan Sweden 1991-1999 to investigate the degree to...

At present, politicians in the Netherlands tend to pay more attention to bridging cultural gaps between various ethnic groups than reducing class differences. In that context, it is frequently assumed that ethnic integration processes can be facilitated by establishing a mixed population. In...

Recently, the use of the term polycentric or polynuclear urban region has clearly increased greatly in the European urban (planning) literature and also in policy documents. Literally, polycentricity in urban form refers to nothing more than the existence of more than one centre in a city,...

Ghetto formation is a recurrent item in debates on urban futures all over the world, the Netherlands not excluded. Many people express their fear for extreme separation between ethnic groups. Many Europeans tend to believe that the recent growth in the number of immigrants in the larger cities...

Social mix is one of the supposedly promising keywords in today's urban policies. Many players in the field believe that social mix enhances opportunities and the quality of life of urban dwellers. However, there are alternative views of social mix. This paper addresses questions about the...

Currently, many major Western cities aim to be attractive to new and economically successful high-tech industries, financial and business services, cultural industries and consumer services industries. Most of these new activities are dependent upon well-skilled creative workers, which will be...

In academic debates on neighbourhoods and social cohesion, there has been ample attention paid to processes in old urban residential districts as well as in the massive housing estates built from the 1960s until the 1980s. Newly developed suburban districts have always been in question, maybe...

It is difficult to exaggerate the importance for urban and social studies of Loïc Wacquant’s work (and indeed its relevance to political debate). As a contribution to bringing out and following up the importance of his most recent book, <roman>Urban Outcasts: A Comparative Sociology of Advanced...</roman>