ABSTRACT
Segregation is very much back on the agenda of urban social research. Theoretical reflections about societal change during the current phase of globalization and post-modern development and its impact on the urban social fabric have fuelled empirical work in recent years. Much of this research has focussed on issues related to segregation: socio-economic polarization (Dangschat, 1996, 1999), the role of the welfare state (Musterd & Ostendorf, 1998), changing mechanisms and patterns of segregation and the function of large cities and metropolitan areas as 'integration machines' for immigrants (e.g., Heitmeyer, Dollase & Backes, 1998 or the diverse contributions to the Canadian Metropolis projects).
