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Home / Built Environment, Volume 37, Number 2

The Challenges of Understanding Urban Segregation

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Authors: Vaughan, Laura; Arbaci, Sonia

Source: Built Environment, Volume 37, Number 2, June 2011, pp. 128-138(11)

Publisher: Alexandrine Press

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2148/benv.37.2.128

Despite a century of research into urban segregation, patterns of immigrant settlement are still insufficiently understood. This topical issue requires radical thinking, particularly as it is currently dealt with by a range of disciplines, each of which tends to rely on its own research paradigms. This paper reviews some of the key challenges of studying the subject, starting with the concept of segregation being more complex than the simplistic label of 'ghetto' might suggest. The paper also shows how approaches to the challenges of understanding urban segregation differ according to its given geographical context and disciplinary approach. It shows that segregation is a multi-dimensional process, requiring a multi-disciplinary approach. The paper concludes that research into segregation needs to address the fact that it is an inherently complex and fundamentally spatial phenomenon.

Document Type: Research Article

Publication date: 01 June 2011

More about this publication?

  • Built Environment is published quarterly in March, June, September and December. With an emphasis on crossing disciplinary boundaries and providing global perspective, each issue focuses on a single subject of contemporary interest to practitioners, academics and students working in a wide range of disciplines. Issues are guest-edited by established international experts who not only commission contributions, but also oversee the peer-reviewing process in collaboration with the Editors.

    Subject areas include: architecture; conservation; economic development; environmental planning; health; housing; regeneration; social issues; spatial planning; sustainability; urban design; and transport. All issues include reviews of recent publications.

    The journal is abstracted in Geo Abstracts, Sage Urban Studies Abstracts, and Journal of Planning Literature, and is indexed in the Avery Index to Architectural Publications.

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