Based on extensive research with distinguished scholars within the book project ‘Socioeconomic Segregation in European Capital Cities’, this chapter summarizes the key trends in income inequality and socioeconomic segregation in Europe. We draw our data from the two last census rounds, and we focus on the most common indicators of income inequality (Gini Index) and residential segregation (Dissimilarity Index). We find that levels of residential segregation grew between the two last censuses in most of the cities included in our study. Changes in residential segregation follow changes in income inequality with a time lag, and it tends to happen in both directions. Low levels of income inequality relate to low levels of segregation after 10 years, and high levels of inequality relate to high levels of segregation after 10 years.

An increasing number of studies point to the existence of fertility differences between immigrants and those who are native to the receiving countries. However, despite a large body of literature covering a wide range of settings, there is a lack of research into the factors that may underlie the observed differentials. In this article, we focus on the role of population composition in residential neighbourhoods and workplaces, which are assumed to influence the convergence of the fertility patterns of immigrants with those of the host country. The study is based on individual-based register data for the residential population of Finland from 1999 to 2014. We use discrete-time event history models to analyse transitions to first, second, and third births among immigrant women and their descendants of African and Middle Eastern origin whose fertility patterns are markedly different from those of the host society. We investigate whether the proportion of co-ethnic immigrants in residential neighbourhoods and workplaces is related with the fertility adaptation among that high-fertility group. Our results suggest that among them, a higher concentration of co-ethnic immigrants in the neighbourhood is associated with an elevated propensity of having a second and third child. The association persists among child migrants and the second generation. However, a similar association is not observed between fertility and the workplace context.

A paradigm shift is taking place in spatial segregation research. At the heart of this shift is the understanding of the connectedness of spatial segregation in different life domains and the availability of new datasets that allow for more detailed studies on these connections. In this thematic issue on spatial underpinnings of social inequalities we will outline the foundations of the ‘vicious circles of segregation’ framework to shed new light on questions such as: What is the role of residential neighbourhoods in urban inequalities in contemporary cities? Have residential neighbourhoods lost their importance in structuring daily lives since important part of social interaction takes place elsewhere? How is residential segregation related to inequalities in other important life domains, in schools, at work and during leisure time? The vicious circles of segregation framework builds on the traditional approaches to spatial segregation, as well as on the emerging new research undertaken within the ‘activity space approach’ and ‘longitudinal approach’ to segregation. The articles in this thematic issue improve our understanding of how spatial segregation is transmitted from one life domain to another as people sort into residential neighbourhoods, schools, workplace and leisure time activity sites, and gain contextual effects by getting exposed to and interacting with other people in them.

The neighbourhood in which people live reflects their social class and preferences, so studying socio-spatial mobility between neighbourhood types gives insight into the openness of spatial class structures of societies and into the ability of people to leave disadvantaged neighbourhoods. In this paper we study the extent to which people move between different types of neighbourhoods by socio-economic status in different inequality and segregation contexts in four European countries: Sweden, the Netherlands, the UK (England and Wales), and Estonia. The study is based on population registers and census data for the 2001–2011 period. For England and Wales, which has long had high levels of income inequalities and high levels of socio-economic segregation, we find that levels of mobility between neighbourhood types are low and opportunities to move to more socio-economically advantaged neighbourhoods are modest. In Estonia, which used to be one of the most equal and least segregated countries in Europe, and now is one of the most unequal countries, we find high levels of mobility, but these reproduce segregation patterns and it is difficult to move to less deprived neighbourhoods for those in the most deprived neighbourhoods. In the Netherlands and Sweden, where income inequalities are the smallest, it is the easiest to move from the most deprived to less deprived neighbourhoods. The conclusion is that the combination of high levels of income inequalities and high levels of spatial segregation tend to lead to a vicious circle of segregation for low-income groups, where it is difficult to undertake upward socio-spatial mobility.

In urban geography research there is a small supply of articles which reflect upon the aims and motives of entrepreneurs when they enter neighbourhoods that are undergoing a process of gentrification. The aim of this paper is to better understand the explanatory factors behind the timing of entrepreneurial changes that take place during the commercial gentrification process in Tallinn’s post-industrial neighbourhoods. Based on thirty in-depth interviews, we propose an explanation from the supply perspective that highlights the dynamics behind motivation-based influences. By modifying the diffusion of the innovation theory developed by Rogers we are able to show how, during the different phases of the process, groups of pioneers, early adopters, the early and late majority, and laggards enter a neighbourhood that is being gentrified by varying objectives, and associate the dynamics behind the process with the follower effect that is being shaped by knowledge diffusion, a specific market niche, and physical co-location.

Although many studies claim that the residential context is an important factor in shaping the ethnic identity of minorities, there are few studies which actually measure this relationship. This study contributes to filling this gap by investigating the relationship between the ethnic composition of neighbourhoods and changes in the self-reported ethnic identity of Russian-speaking minorities living in post-Soviet Estonia. Additionally, we observe Estonians who have changed their ethnic identity to Russian. We used data from the 2000 and 2011 Estonian censuses, which were geo-coded and linked at the individual level, enabling us to follow individuals over time. We estimated multi-level and fixed effects regression models to explore the relationship between the neighbourhood context and changes in ethnic identity. The main results show that ethnic minorities who live in majority-dominated neighbourhoods and regions, are the most likely to change their ethnic identity. We also show that members of the majority population who live in minority-dense neighbourhoods are more likely to change their ethnic identity than other majority group members. The results suggest that opportunities to meet people from other ethnic groups are important in processes of integration and assimilation, and it affects members of the majority and minority population alike.