The (ir)relevance of economic segregation: Jane Jacobs and the empirical and moral implications of an unequal spatial distribution of wealth

Abstract

Cities are economically segregated to various degrees. Segregation translates into greater homogeneity of neighborhoods: the rich and the poor usually occupy separate parts of the city. In response, urban-renewal policies often focus on creating an economically more heterogeneous neighborhood composition by replacing lower-income with middle-income households. Arguably with little or mixed success, as those policies seem to focus more on places (i.e. neighborhoods) than on the people who live there. In this regard, Jane Jacobs writings on “slums” and the conditions that favor “unslumming” processes are illuminating. Although in the last decades the word slum has gotten out of fashion (at least in developed countries), her contributions remain relevant in order to address the moral and empirical implications of an unequal spatial distribution of wealth. The paper discusses three aspects of Jacobs' writings and develops them further into three reflections on current ideas about segregation and policies trying to combat that. It concludes that debates and policies may benefit from 1) less focus on the economic differences between neighborhoods (and more on the living standard of each neighborhood and the people who live there); 2) more attention to the neighborhood population's own regenerating and development potential rather than the negative effects of segregation processes on neighborhood residents; and 3) a dynamic rather than static view on the neighborhood.