Bringing urban space back in: A multilevel analysis of environmental inequality in Germany

Rüttenauer, Tobias

doi:10.1177/0042098018795786

Cited by 31 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 45 publications

(79 reference statements)

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“…For example, neighborhoods in the eastern parts of postindustrial British cities have lower incomes today because they were less desirable places to live in the 19th century when the wind (blowing west to east) concentrated pollution there 63 . Negative externalities such as air pollution are known to cluster in poorer neighborhoods 64 . In our specific context, we expect that social networks are more fragmented in towns that are spatially segregated both because physical barriers decrease the probability of face-to-face interaction 49 and because they facilitate sorting of new arrivals by providing clear boundaries to neighborhoods 65 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inequality is rising where social network segregation interacts with urban topology

et al. 2021

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Social networks amplify inequalities by fundamental mechanisms of social tie formation such as homophily and triadic closure. These forces sharpen social segregation, which is reflected in fragmented social network structure. Geographical impediments such as distance and physical or administrative boundaries also reinforce social segregation. Yet, less is known about the joint relationships between social network structure, urban geography, and inequality. In this paper we analyze an online social network and find that the fragmentation of social networks is significantly higher in towns in which residential neighborhoods are divided by physical barriers such as rivers and railroads. Towns in which neighborhoods are relatively distant from the center of town and amenities are spatially concentrated are also more socially segregated. Using a two-stage model, we show that these urban geography features have significant relationships with income inequality via social network fragmentation. In other words, the geographic features of a place can compound economic inequalities via social networks.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inequality is rising where social network segregation interacts with urban topology

et al. 2021

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“…For instance, previous research indicates that Blacks in the US and immigrant minorities in Germany experience similar discriminatory disadvantages on the labour market (Quillian et al, 2019) and on the housing market (Auspurg, Schneck, & Hinz, 2019). Fur-thermore, findings on environmental inequality in the German speaking area for immigrant minorities resembles results from the US for ethnoracial minorities (Glatter-Götz et al, 2019;Rüttenauer, 2019).…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 89%

Perceived Pollution and Residential Sorting in Germany: Income May Not Sort, But it Helps to Escape

Rüttenauer¹,

Best²

2020

Preprint

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The disproportionate exposure of minorities and socio-economically disadvantaged households to environmental pollution is often explained by selective migration or sorting mechanisms. Yet, previous empirical findings remain inconclusive. In this study, we offer an explanation for mixed findings by focusing on the selective out-migration process triggered by environmental pollution. We use household-level panel data of the German SOEP from 1986 to 2016 and within-household estimates of correlated random effects probit models. More precisely, we test if the subjective impairment through air pollution selectively affects the probability of out-migration according to income and minority status. We find that perceived air pollution has a stronger effect on the likelihood of moving for households experiencing an income increase. Surprisingly, we find only small and imprecise differences between native German and first generation immigrant households, and a relatively large proportion of this difference can be explained by income. This indicates that selective out-migration processes substantially differ from selective in-migration processes, and environmental inequality research should more carefully distinguish the single steps of neighbourhood sorting.

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“…Moreover, urbanity cannot explain the effect between income and migration backgrounds. Some people remain exposed to land use disadvantages regardless of the urbanity, although other urban forms, such as the centrality of industry sites and their effects on ethnic segregation (Ru¨ttenauer, 2019), may be of interest for future work. Given the continually growing land use in Germany, these environmental inequalities could increase in the next few years.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Land use disadvantages in Germany: A matter of ethnic income inequalities?

Jünger

2021

Urban Studies

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Environmental hazards affect people from different income groups and migration backgrounds on different levels. The research on environmental inequalities and environmental justice has proposed several theories to explain such inequities; still, it remains unclear which of these theories applies to the German societal context. This research investigates whether individual-level income differences between Germans and migrants account for objectively measured exposure to the environmental goods and bads of land use, specifically soil sealing and green spaces. Marginal effects and predictions based on georeferenced survey data from the German General Social Survey reveal that Germans with higher incomes live in areas with better neighbourhood quality. Germans with lower incomes are exposed to fewer disadvantages stemming from land use, and there is no marginal difference between nonurban and urban municipalities. Spatial assimilation in high-income groups occurs; however, the difference in low-income groups can be explained by place stratification and discrimination in the housing market. While this study uses more indirect and non-hazardous measures of environmental quality – in contrast to air pollution or noise – it provides evidence that such indicators also create distributional injustices in Germany.

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Bringing urban space back in: A multilevel analysis of environmental inequality in Germany

Cited by 31 publications

References 45 publications

Inequality is rising where social network segregation interacts with urban topology

Inequality is rising where social network segregation interacts with urban topology

Perceived Pollution and Residential Sorting in Germany: Income May Not Sort, But it Helps to Escape

Land use disadvantages in Germany: A matter of ethnic income inequalities?

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