Advisory Center for Affordable Settlements & Housing

Document Download Download
Document Type General
Publish Date 19/09/2018
Author
Published By Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
Edited By Arslan Hassan
Uncategorized

SHIFTING MOBILITIES AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF SUBURBIA

Suburbanisation has been a prevalent process of post-war, capitalist urban growth, leading to the majority of citizens in many advanced capitalist economies currently living in the suburbs. We are also witnessing, however, the reverse movement of the increasing return to the inner-city. This contradiction raises questions regarding contemporary urban growth and the socio-spatial production of the suburbs. This paper draws on the case of the new town Almere in the metropolitan region of Amsterdam to cast light upon the changing suburban–urban relationship, by investigating the mobility to and from Almere for two decades through socio-economic, and demographic data between 1990 and 2013. We demonstrate that Almere has developed from a typical suburban family community to a receiver of both international unmarried newcomers and families; its population has also become relatively poorer, yet the levels of upwards income mobility have remained stable. These trends emphasize alternative types of mobilities emerging in concert with the more typical suburban migration. The town’s transformation challenges the urban-suburban dichotomy, pointing to alternative explanations of contemporary urban growth and metropolitan integration.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *