Pub Date : 2026-01-08DOI: 10.1177/00420980251393550
Kate Lowe, Anson Stewart, Gwendolyn Purifoye
Public transit is highly inequitable in hyper-segregated Chicago. After being promised for 50 years, a rail extension is finally poised for construction on the far South Side, a majority Black area lacking metro rail service. Using interviews, we examine how riders and residents perceive the long-awaited Red Line Extension and current riding experiences, focusing on time—waiting for buses routinely and waiting for a long-promised project. While the extension is an important step for equity, it is not reparative planning; doubt and frustration expressed by interviewees reflect that they also see equity planning as falling short.
{"title":"Waiting for minutes and decades: Public transit and opportunities for reparative planning on Chicago’s far South Side","authors":"Kate Lowe, Anson Stewart, Gwendolyn Purifoye","doi":"10.1177/00420980251393550","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00420980251393550","url":null,"abstract":"Public transit is highly inequitable in hyper-segregated Chicago. After being promised for 50 years, a rail extension is finally poised for construction on the far South Side, a majority Black area lacking metro rail service. Using interviews, we examine how riders and residents perceive the long-awaited Red Line Extension and current riding experiences, focusing on time—waiting for buses routinely and waiting for a long-promised project. While the extension is an important step for equity, it is not reparative planning; doubt and frustration expressed by interviewees reflect that they also see equity planning as falling short.","PeriodicalId":51350,"journal":{"name":"Urban Studies","volume":"21 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145920056","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-29DOI: 10.1177/00420980251396004
Jayaraj Sundaresan
This article examines the relationship between planning, violations and powerlessness in Bangalore. It argues that although planning power is supposed to be produced in the public administration by urban planners and bureaucrats working with and through different protocols, it is never actually produced in reality. Engaging with this paradox and drawing on Latour and Nāgārjuna, this article suggests that planning power has no ontological substance and that planning is performatively constituted in real time by diverse collectives. I argue that the millions of observable everyday practices that mutually constitute the social, political and administrative cannot be explained, criticised or controlled by a single concept of ‘planning state power’ as a structural force. Instead, the article proposes Yojana as a context-sensitive vernacular concept to better understand the practice of planning in India and beyond.
{"title":"Lion in a jungle or lion in a cage? Yojana beyond planning power and powerlessness in Bangalore, India","authors":"Jayaraj Sundaresan","doi":"10.1177/00420980251396004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00420980251396004","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines the relationship between planning, violations and powerlessness in Bangalore. It argues that although planning power is supposed to be produced in the public administration by urban planners and bureaucrats working with and through different protocols, it is never actually produced in reality. Engaging with this paradox and drawing on Latour and Nāgārjuna, this article suggests that planning power has no ontological substance and that planning is performatively constituted in real time by diverse collectives. I argue that the millions of observable everyday practices that mutually constitute the social, political and administrative cannot be explained, criticised or controlled by a single concept of ‘planning state power’ as a structural force. Instead, the article proposes <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Yojana</jats:italic> as a context-sensitive vernacular concept to better understand the practice of planning in India and beyond.","PeriodicalId":51350,"journal":{"name":"Urban Studies","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145893674","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-26DOI: 10.1177/00420980251396493
Francisco Fernández Romero
The fields of ability and ableism studies advance previous work in disability studies, which shows how disability is socially produced, to focus on how the abilities of non-disabled subjects are also produced. That is, how do social contexts selectively support, enable or enhance the capacities of certain body-minds? Geography can play a key role in these explorations by interrogating the role of space in these processes of ablement. This article aims to uncover the taken-for-granted ways in which urban infrastructures produce a “normal” pedestrian with the illusory ability to roam the city unaided, while simultaneously not enabling and even restricting the mobility of others. To do so, it addresses infrastructures such as sidewalks and street crossing systems which consolidated in Buenos Aires, Argentina, between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. An analysis of municipal documents shows how walking was made possible due to these infrastructures, which eliminated environmental obstacles and protected people from traffic. But this enablement did not reach all body-minds, as disabled people were expected to be elsewhere, in segregated institutions or domestic spaces. For this analysis, the article draws from disability geography, ability and ableism studies, science and technology studies, and Foucauldian notions of biopower.
{"title":"Urban infrastructures of ablement: The historical production of the “normal” pedestrian in Buenos Aires","authors":"Francisco Fernández Romero","doi":"10.1177/00420980251396493","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00420980251396493","url":null,"abstract":"The fields of ability and ableism studies advance previous work in disability studies, which shows how disability is socially produced, to focus on how the abilities of non-disabled subjects are also produced. That is, how do social contexts selectively support, enable or enhance the capacities of certain body-minds? Geography can play a key role in these explorations by interrogating the role of space in these processes of ablement. This article aims to uncover the taken-for-granted ways in which urban infrastructures produce a “normal” pedestrian with the illusory ability to roam the city unaided, while simultaneously not enabling and even restricting the mobility of others. To do so, it addresses infrastructures such as sidewalks and street crossing systems which consolidated in Buenos Aires, Argentina, between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. An analysis of municipal documents shows how walking was made possible due to these infrastructures, which eliminated environmental obstacles and protected people from traffic. But this enablement did not reach all body-minds, as disabled people were expected to be elsewhere, in segregated institutions or domestic spaces. For this analysis, the article draws from disability geography, ability and ableism studies, science and technology studies, and Foucauldian notions of biopower.","PeriodicalId":51350,"journal":{"name":"Urban Studies","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145830124","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-17DOI: 10.1177/00420980251394539
Maisa Totry
Through an investigation of the socio-spatial development of the Palestinian town of Sakhnin in Israel, this research examines the role of social institutions in shaping informal spatial organization. It investigates how spatial ordering emerges and evolves through the adaptive capacities of social institutions in response to shifts in top-down planning policies and social transformations. Drawing on spatial analysis of the built environment alongside in-depth interviews with residents and professionals from formal planning institutions, the findings reveal the spontaneous forms of communal organization that serve to establish essential urban infrastructures, preserve intergenerational spatial knowledge and enforce social norms under informal conditions. These institutions also operate as collective resistance responses to formalized planning on marginalized communities. The article highlights the enduring interplay between individuals, communities and the state, and underscores the significance of organizational practices in self-organizing informal urbanism.
{"title":"The role of social institutions in informal self-organizing urbanism: The case of Palestinian towns in Israel","authors":"Maisa Totry","doi":"10.1177/00420980251394539","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00420980251394539","url":null,"abstract":"Through an investigation of the socio-spatial development of the Palestinian town of Sakhnin in Israel, this research examines the role of social institutions in shaping informal spatial organization. It investigates how spatial ordering emerges and evolves through the adaptive capacities of social institutions in response to shifts in top-down planning policies and social transformations. Drawing on spatial analysis of the built environment alongside in-depth interviews with residents and professionals from formal planning institutions, the findings reveal the spontaneous forms of communal organization that serve to establish essential urban infrastructures, preserve intergenerational spatial knowledge and enforce social norms under informal conditions. These institutions also operate as collective resistance responses to formalized planning on marginalized communities. The article highlights the enduring interplay between individuals, communities and the state, and underscores the significance of organizational practices in self-organizing informal urbanism.","PeriodicalId":51350,"journal":{"name":"Urban Studies","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145765087","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-16DOI: 10.1177/00420980251393606
William Lewis, Marta Olazabal, Ana Terra Amorim-Maia, Maria Loroño-Leturiondo
Local priorities shape the way urban adaptation to climate change is envisioned. Yet processes to capture these priorities often overlook the power dynamics behind structural vulnerabilities. Approaches to positive futures thinking that are transdisciplinary offer a way to centre local communities in the process. However, these approaches are often limited as communities struggle to conceive climate change beyond their known realities and lived experiences, creating a disconnect between the present and future. We introduce the concept of ‘urban adaptation imaginaries’ to connect futures thinking to real-world social, political, and environmental contexts. Through a critical review, we argue this concept supports urban adaptation decision-making by emphasising its socio-political and relational dimensions, and by addressing the fragmentation and abstraction common in adaptation discourse about the future. We identify three key contributions: (1) fostering context-sensitive adaptation; (2) prioritising justice and inclusivity; and (3) enabling iterative learning processes. To support this, we highlight creative methods such as arts-based approaches, and storytelling to help make climate futures more accessible, grounded, and transformative.
{"title":"Connecting the present to the future: The potential of urban adaptation imaginaries","authors":"William Lewis, Marta Olazabal, Ana Terra Amorim-Maia, Maria Loroño-Leturiondo","doi":"10.1177/00420980251393606","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00420980251393606","url":null,"abstract":"Local priorities shape the way urban adaptation to climate change is envisioned. Yet processes to capture these priorities often overlook the power dynamics behind structural vulnerabilities. Approaches to positive futures thinking that are transdisciplinary offer a way to centre local communities in the process. However, these approaches are often limited as communities struggle to conceive climate change beyond their known realities and lived experiences, creating a disconnect between the present and future. We introduce the concept of ‘urban adaptation imaginaries’ to connect futures thinking to real-world social, political, and environmental contexts. Through a critical review, we argue this concept supports urban adaptation decision-making by emphasising its socio-political and relational dimensions, and by addressing the fragmentation and abstraction common in adaptation discourse about the future. We identify three key contributions: (1) fostering context-sensitive adaptation; (2) prioritising justice and inclusivity; and (3) enabling iterative learning processes. To support this, we highlight creative methods such as arts-based approaches, and storytelling to help make climate futures more accessible, grounded, and transformative.","PeriodicalId":51350,"journal":{"name":"Urban Studies","volume":"93 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145759576","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-13DOI: 10.1177/00420980251398620
Nathan McClintock, Sophie L. Van Neste, Chantal Gailloux, Florence Barnabé, Caroline Flory-Célini
Greenhouses are becoming a regular feature of the urban landscape, their popularity driven in part by an eco-futurist, techno-optimist vision of “vertical farming” that articulates with entrepreneurial green urbanism. In Montreal (Quebec, Canada), however, urban greenhouses tend to be small-scale, low-tech infrastructures operated by networks of state, non-profit, and community actors, with an equity-oriented mission of working in solidarity with–and providing material support for–marginalized populations. In this article, we characterize the everyday governance of these “solidarity greenhouses” ( serres solidaires ) and examine the conditions that mediate their emergence and success within twin contexts of austerity and entrepreneurial urbanism. Examining three key challenge areas–project definition, municipal regulations, and funding–and how project leaders navigate them, we reveal how everyday governance is a function of relational and differential power between partners and the ability to navigate a shifting funding landscape. Governance is further deeply influenced by Quebec’s unique “community action” model and the ongoing dismantling of a once-robust welfare state.
{"title":"Between state–community partnerships and austerity: The everyday networked governance of Montreal’s solidarity greenhouses","authors":"Nathan McClintock, Sophie L. Van Neste, Chantal Gailloux, Florence Barnabé, Caroline Flory-Célini","doi":"10.1177/00420980251398620","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00420980251398620","url":null,"abstract":"Greenhouses are becoming a regular feature of the urban landscape, their popularity driven in part by an eco-futurist, techno-optimist vision of “vertical farming” that articulates with entrepreneurial green urbanism. In Montreal (Quebec, Canada), however, urban greenhouses tend to be small-scale, low-tech infrastructures operated by networks of state, non-profit, and community actors, with an equity-oriented mission of working in solidarity with–and providing material support for–marginalized populations. In this article, we characterize the everyday governance of these “solidarity greenhouses” ( <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">serres solidaires</jats:italic> ) and examine the conditions that mediate their emergence and success within twin contexts of austerity and entrepreneurial urbanism. Examining three key challenge areas–project definition, municipal regulations, and funding–and how project leaders navigate them, we reveal how everyday governance is a function of relational and differential power between partners and the ability to navigate a shifting funding landscape. Governance is further deeply influenced by Quebec’s unique “community action” model and the ongoing dismantling of a once-robust welfare state.","PeriodicalId":51350,"journal":{"name":"Urban Studies","volume":"227 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145730888","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-12DOI: 10.1177/00420980251393015
Magali de Raphélis, Sandra Mallet
Urban nights in Europe have undergone significant transformations since the 1980s. In order to better understand the origins and consequences of these changes, this paper presents a diachronic analysis of the nightlife scene and its regulation and governance in a French intermediate city and its surroundings areas from the late 1970s to the present day. By distinguishing several periods, it demonstrates that night-time activities have gradually multiplied, diversified and concentrated in urban areas. By placing them alongside changes in regulations and governance, it reveals that these changes have not been driven by a deregulation of licences or a laissez-faire approach associated with the 24-hour-city policies, but have been carried out by a wide range of stakeholders. The national and then local public authorities have set up consultations with these various players to both support and supervise these transformations. This article thus clarifies what the so-called ‘continental European nightlife’ looked like in a French city when British cities were adopting 24-hour-city policies, and how it has evolved since then, and highlights certain factors that could explain the differences observed between the UK and France.
{"title":"A ‘continental European nightlife’? The evolution of nightlife venues and their stakeholders since the 1980s: Urban and rural dynamics around a French intermediate city","authors":"Magali de Raphélis, Sandra Mallet","doi":"10.1177/00420980251393015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00420980251393015","url":null,"abstract":"Urban nights in Europe have undergone significant transformations since the 1980s. In order to better understand the origins and consequences of these changes, this paper presents a diachronic analysis of the nightlife scene and its regulation and governance in a French intermediate city and its surroundings areas from the late 1970s to the present day. By distinguishing several periods, it demonstrates that night-time activities have gradually multiplied, diversified and concentrated in urban areas. By placing them alongside changes in regulations and governance, it reveals that these changes have not been driven by a deregulation of licences or a <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">laissez-faire</jats:italic> approach associated with the 24-hour-city policies, but have been carried out by a wide range of stakeholders. The national and then local public authorities have set up consultations with these various players to both support and supervise these transformations. This article thus clarifies what the so-called ‘continental European nightlife’ looked like in a French city when British cities were adopting 24-hour-city policies, and how it has evolved since then, and highlights certain factors that could explain the differences observed between the UK and France.","PeriodicalId":51350,"journal":{"name":"Urban Studies","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145730889","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-12DOI: 10.1177/00420980251391666
Michael Osei Asibey, Patrick Brandful Cobbinah
We examine the phenomenon of de-greening urbanism within the context of social imaginaries in informal settlements, focusing on the city of Kumasi (Ghana). De-greening urbanism refers to an urban development process that displaces greenspace, contributing to its decline, deterioration, and loss, closely associated with the negatively changing character of a community. Using mixed research methods, spatiotemporal analysis was undertaken, and surveys and interviews were conducted with city officials, community leaders, and residents to understand the complexity and politics of de-greening urbanism for informal settlements and their environment. The findings reveal a significant loss of urban greenspace (52.4%) in the informal settlements between 2004 and 2024, produced by complex politics of land tenure problems, weak enforcement of planning laws, and poor community–institution collaboration. This de-greening urbanism phenomenon is compounding social inequality, marginalizing informal settlement residents, and fostering socio-environmental segregation across the cityscape. Within the context of social imaginaries, this article underscores the importance of inclusion and collaboration to promote ecological resilience, social cohesion, and the overall urban wellbeing of informal settlement residents.
{"title":"De-greening urbanism and social imaginaries in informal settlements","authors":"Michael Osei Asibey, Patrick Brandful Cobbinah","doi":"10.1177/00420980251391666","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00420980251391666","url":null,"abstract":"We examine the phenomenon of de-greening urbanism within the context of social imaginaries in informal settlements, focusing on the city of Kumasi (Ghana). De-greening urbanism refers to an urban development process that displaces greenspace, contributing to its decline, deterioration, and loss, closely associated with the negatively changing character of a community. Using mixed research methods, spatiotemporal analysis was undertaken, and surveys and interviews were conducted with city officials, community leaders, and residents to understand the complexity and politics of de-greening urbanism for informal settlements and their environment. The findings reveal a significant loss of urban greenspace (52.4%) in the informal settlements between 2004 and 2024, produced by complex politics of land tenure problems, weak enforcement of planning laws, and poor community–institution collaboration. This de-greening urbanism phenomenon is compounding social inequality, marginalizing informal settlement residents, and fostering socio-environmental segregation across the cityscape. Within the context of social imaginaries, this article underscores the importance of inclusion and collaboration to promote ecological resilience, social cohesion, and the overall urban wellbeing of informal settlement residents.","PeriodicalId":51350,"journal":{"name":"Urban Studies","volume":"143 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145730890","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-06DOI: 10.1177/00420980251390711
Stephanie Benzaquen-Gautier
This article discusses the spatial and symbolic politics associated with competing expressions of leadership in the built form of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It does so across two episodes. The first one is the Sangkum era, post-independence, urban modernizations initiated by Prince Norodom Sihanouk. Here royal authority gave expression to an emerging nationhood by establishing a landmark urban axis. The second, and more recent, episode sees an alternative urban axis being initiated by the de facto ruler (until 2023), Prime Minister Hun Sen. Using the disciplinary lens of visual culture and new materialism, the article unpacks the resonances between the two episodes and explores how these are distinct process of “dynasty-making,” one royally and nationally framed, the other politically and globally framed, associated with those forms. The article argues that persistent “strongmen” symbolism and “new monarchy” symbolism are woven into the urban fabric, albeit under very different circumstances.
{"title":"Competing axes, rival dynasties: The new Kingdom of Cambodia","authors":"Stephanie Benzaquen-Gautier","doi":"10.1177/00420980251390711","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00420980251390711","url":null,"abstract":"This article discusses the spatial and symbolic politics associated with competing expressions of leadership in the built form of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It does so across two episodes. The first one is the Sangkum era, post-independence, urban modernizations initiated by Prince Norodom Sihanouk. Here royal authority gave expression to an emerging nationhood by establishing a landmark urban axis. The second, and more recent, episode sees an alternative urban axis being initiated by the de facto ruler (until 2023), Prime Minister Hun Sen. Using the disciplinary lens of visual culture and new materialism, the article unpacks the resonances between the two episodes and explores how these are distinct process of “dynasty-making,” one royally and nationally framed, the other politically and globally framed, associated with those forms. The article argues that persistent “strongmen” symbolism and “new monarchy” symbolism are woven into the urban fabric, albeit under very different circumstances.","PeriodicalId":51350,"journal":{"name":"Urban Studies","volume":"123 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145680207","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-06DOI: 10.1177/00420980251392160
Crhistian Joel González-Cuatianquis, Alessandra Faggian, Paolo Veneri
This article examines how interpersonal and territorial inequalities shape life satisfaction across European cities. While prior research has typically focused on one type of inequality or on national/regional scales, we analyze both dimensions simultaneously at the city level, addressing a key research gap. We test the hypothesis that interpersonal inequalities have a stronger negative association with life satisfaction than territorial inequalities, as they trigger more immediate social comparison processes and perceptions of unfairness. By contrast, territorial disparities, which capture broader economic and sociodemographic differences between cities, may be less perceptible in residents’ daily experiences and thus exert weaker effects on subjective well-being (SWB). Our study also advances beyond conventional economic indicators by using a novel SWB-based inequality measure, capturing dimensions that standard economic metrics may overlook. Using microdata from the Quality of Life in European Cities survey (2012–2023) and contextual statistics for 75 cities, we estimate multilevel models to disentangle these effects. Results reveal a strong negative association between interpersonal inequality and average city life satisfaction, while no significant relationship is found for territorial disparities. These findings highlight the primacy of interpersonal comparisons within urban contexts and challenge assumptions about the geographic dimension of inequality in shaping well-being.
{"title":"Unequal cities, unhappy lives? The role of interpersonal and territorial inequalities in shaping life satisfaction in European cities","authors":"Crhistian Joel González-Cuatianquis, Alessandra Faggian, Paolo Veneri","doi":"10.1177/00420980251392160","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00420980251392160","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines how interpersonal and territorial inequalities shape life satisfaction across European cities. While prior research has typically focused on one type of inequality or on national/regional scales, we analyze both dimensions simultaneously at the city level, addressing a key research gap. We test the hypothesis that interpersonal inequalities have a stronger negative association with life satisfaction than territorial inequalities, as they trigger more immediate social comparison processes and perceptions of unfairness. By contrast, territorial disparities, which capture broader economic and sociodemographic differences between cities, may be less perceptible in residents’ daily experiences and thus exert weaker effects on subjective well-being (SWB). Our study also advances beyond conventional economic indicators by using a novel SWB-based inequality measure, capturing dimensions that standard economic metrics may overlook. Using microdata from the Quality of Life in European Cities survey (2012–2023) and contextual statistics for 75 cities, we estimate multilevel models to disentangle these effects. Results reveal a strong negative association between interpersonal inequality and average city life satisfaction, while no significant relationship is found for territorial disparities. These findings highlight the primacy of interpersonal comparisons within urban contexts and challenge assumptions about the geographic dimension of inequality in shaping well-being.","PeriodicalId":51350,"journal":{"name":"Urban Studies","volume":"37 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145680210","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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