Social Polarisation, the Labour Market and Economic Restructuring in Europe: An Urban Perspective

Abstract

It is frequently argued that changes in the occupational structure and labour markets of European cities have the potential to undermine social cohesion. The term ‘social polarisation’ has been widely employed to characterise this effect, either in a broadly descriptive manner or in line with specific hypotheses. In the first part of this article, alternative definitions are reviewed and the results of empirical research on social polarisation are summarised. Some of its limitations are discussed and its theoretical origins explored. In the second part, attention is turned to the ‘mechanisms’ driving change in workplaces and urban labour markets in Europe. It is argued that an accurate account of changing occupational structures and labour markets in European cities—and a balanced assessment of their consequences for social cohesion—can only be obtained by building up a complex and carefully contextualised analysis of the ways in which these ‘mechanisms’ interact in different cities

Poverty and Social Exclusion in Diversified Rural Contexts

“…Whereas the concept of the ‘global countryside’ provoked a lot of research on rural economic restructuring, food chains, tourism and migration, it has not received corresponding attention in rural poverty and inequality studies. Once again, in the field of urban studies, the changes related to globalisation have been studied also from the perspective of social inequality dynamics and polarisation, as documented best by the thesis on growing social polarisation in global cities (Sassen ; Pratschke and Morlicchio ). Compared to that, even if Woods () declared growing social polarisation as one of the defining features of the global countryside, labour market transformations, mobility and policy changes related to increasing global interconnectedness, the rising importance of global actors in transforming rural places, and global‐local negotiations and configurations have not been sufficiently explored as drivers of social polarisation and inequalities within and among places.…”

Long-term private renters: Perceptions of security and insecurity

“…As in many other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, Australia’s private rental increase is also related to labour market restructuring, with employment security progressively undermined by shifts towards part-time, casual and other forms of ‘flexible’ working (Beer et al, 2015; Eurofound, 2015; Howe, 2012; Pratschke and Morlicchio, 2012). Households dependent on casualised and part-time jobs, or on government benefits, are rarely able to access home ownership in the capital cities and thus have little option but to rent in the private market.…”

Social Polarisation at the Local Level: A Four-Town Comparative Study on the Challenges of Politicising Inequality in Britain

“…We therefore caution against the too simplistic application of concepts of polarisation. Rather, our take follows Pratschke and Morlicchio (2012) in calling for a complex and carefully contextualised analysis of the ways in which ‘generative mechanisms’ interact in different towns. Following the lead of researchers studying migration and race and ethnicities (Gilroy, 2004; Rishbeth and Rogaly, 2018; Rogaly and Taylor, 2011; Tyler, 2012), our revived community analysis sees places as simultaneously convivial and demarcated and, furthermore, links these dynamics to broader processes of elite versus poverty-based polarisation.…”