Research project SS/D6/05 (Research action SS)
Social dualisation does not only translate into spatial structures. These structures lead in turn to further social inequality. The study of this geographical dimension to dualisation offers considerable opportunities for theoretical and methodological innovations in research into social inequality.
The study has policy relevance in that it can clarify the choice between a geographically and an individually orientated approach, and is able, via the problem of town planning, to place each policy option in its broad geographical context.
In concrete terms, the project has three parts: a literature study, a detailed survey of two Brussels districts and a study of the socio-spatial structure of Brussels between 1981 and 1991.
The survey embraces three fields that serve to determine the district-dependence of deprived groups and the effects of this on their deprivation:
- mechanisms in the housing market and the motivation of those involved in this market;
- the significance of local social networks in the districts;
- formal and informal economic activities forming part of "survival strategies".
