Small-Scale Socio-Economic Conditions and Residential Segregation: Evidence from the Municipalities Across the Metropolitan Region of Attica

Abstract

Residential segregation gained a new momentum after the turn of the new century. The pace of urbanization that has been observed over the last two decades has been proceeding hand in hand with the increasing residential segregation in large cities and metropolitan areas. The international literature is flourishing with studies on residential segregation. This paper investigates residential segregation trends in the Metropolitan Region of Attica during the period 2004-2019. The analysis is based on a database combining individual household data from the EU-SILC, as well as data from official national sources. The paper applies the Dissimilarity Index for measuring residential segregation trends based on occupation, education and living conditions, before, during and after the economic crisis. We also use the Gini index for comparing income inequality with residential segregation trends. Our analysis shows that between 2004 and 2019, residential segregation intensified between the top and bottom socio-economic groups, whilst an inclusive trend has been recorded between middle-class groups and the other two categories. The results do not suggest any similar patterns between residential segregation and income inequality. The evidence derived from this study is relevant to public policy, inclusive growth and development.