Resurgent cities and the socioeconomic divide: the young, educated and affluent city of Copenhagen, Denmark

Abstract

ABSTRACT The recovery of cities has led to increased wealth while simultaneously amplifying the socioeconomic spatial divide and polarization within the resurgent city. Recently, renewed interest in the socioeconomic consequences of the city’s growth has focused on residential differences in terms of e.g. income and education. In this paper, we examine how the recovery of cities has influenced the internal divide in the socioeconomic structures of demography, education, and employment. Utilizing Danish register data for all residents in Copenhagen during the period from 1992 to 2017, we describe the development of the resurgent city in relation to two sets of processes, academification (formal academic education) and workification (employment rate), with a focus on young adults, and compare with the suburban municipalities bordering Copenhagen. We show that Copenhagen, like other major European and American resurgent cities, has seen a decrease in the mean age of its residents and an increase in young adults who have completed an academic education and found employment in the city. Moreover, we find that the relationship between residence and workplace location has become more divided according to educational background, further emphasizing the socioeconomic inequalities within the city.