ABSTRACT
Structural trends may have a different impact in different regions and, as a consequence, inequality has a clear geographical dimension within countries. This chapter describes the background of the fundamental trends shaping (urban-)economic inequality and segregation by building on the wide and burgeoning literature on this topic. It focuses on the specific position of cities and differences between cities and regions with regard to economic inequality, and on inequality within cities. The chapter then deals with the causes of the spatial configuration of urban-economic inequality: segregation. Many policymakers in Western countries face, or fear to face, an increase in economic inequality. This increase is often attributed to structural changes in the economy. Processes such as technological development, globalisation and deindustrialisation and the rise of the service economy, have affected the employment structure of many (Western) countries in a fundamental way, resulting in larger differences in market incomes.
