Determinants and dynamics of demographic segregation

There is a growing interest in issues related to residential segregation. The focus of basically all recent segregation research is however directed to only two of the three basic dimensions of segregation (social class and ethnic origin/race). The third, demographic segregation – the allocation of households by age, household type and gender – has been left aside.

This has resulted in a lack of both theory development and recent empirical studies. One potential contributing factor is that demographic segregation is generally understood as relatively unproblematic, even though it is well known that it co-varies with other forms of segregation. For example, ethnic segregation may be partly explained by the fact that new immigrants tend to be young and for that particular reason economically weak, which in turn steer them towards rental housing. This project will contribute to a better knowledge base related to demographic segregation processes and consequently also contribute to the understanding of other forms of segregation.

Another contributing reason for the lack of Swedish studies of demographic segregation is a lack of high quality data of household units in multifamily housing. This problem was solved in 2012 with the introduction of a register based on housing unit (dwelling/apartment) rather than real estates.

Project start

2017

Funding

Forte

Researchers

Roger Andersson (project manager)
Jan Amcoff, senior lecturer/Associate professor at Department of Social and Economic Geography
Emma Holmqvist, researcher, IBF
Lina Hedman
Åsa Bråmå