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Sydney, Australia: A Global City? Testing the Social Polarisation Thesis

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  • Scott Baum

    (Department of Psychology and Sociology, James Cook University of North Queensland, Townsville, Queensland, 4811, Australia, scott.mcdonnell-baum@jcu.edu.au)

Abstract

It has been argued that the global city-social polarisation thesis put forward by scholars looking at North American cities cannot be easily transferred to global cities in other parts of the world. Recent research has illustrated that whilst there may be some change in levels of social polarisation in global cities outside the US, the form, structure and causes of social polarisation are different. This paper extends the debate by looking at Sydney, Australia. It is argued that whilst changes in occupational structure and income polarisation are partially explained by economic restructuring associated with globalisation, global processes alone cannot fully explain these changes. The paper points to the significance of the inclusion of factors such as the unemployed, the gendered structure of occupations and migration.

Suggested Citation

  • Scott Baum, 1997. "Sydney, Australia: A Global City? Testing the Social Polarisation Thesis," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 34(11), pages 1881-1902, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:34:y:1997:i:11:p:1881-1902
    DOI: 10.1080/0042098975295
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Chris Hamnett, 1994. "Social Polarisation in Global Cities: Theory and Evidence," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 31(3), pages 401-424, April.
    2. Chris Hamnett, 1996. "Social Polarisation, Economic Restructuring and Welfare State Regimes," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 33(8), pages 1407-1430, October.
    3. R.G. Gregory, 1993. "Aspects of Australian and US Living Standards: The Disappointing Decades 1970–1990," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 69(1), pages 61-76, March.
    4. Gary W. Loveman & Chris Tilly, 1988. "Good jobs or bad jobs: what does the evidence say?," New England Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, issue Jan, pages 46-65.
    5. Peter Saunders, 1992. "Poverty, Inequality And Recession," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 11(3), pages 1-22, September.
    6. John Friedmann, 1986. "The World City Hypothesis," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 17(1), pages 69-83, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Thomas Maloutas, 2007. "Segregation, Social Polarization and Immigration in Athens during the 1990s: Theoretical Expectations and Contextual Difference," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 733-758, December.
    2. Thomas Maloutas, 2009. "Urban Outcasts: A Contextualized Outlook on Advanced Marginality," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 828-834, September.
    3. Michele Acuto, 2011. "Sydney: The Wicked Power-geometry of a Greening Global City," Chapters, in: Ben Derudder & Michael Hoyler & Peter J. Taylor & Frank Witlox (ed.), International Handbook of Globalization and World Cities, chapter 50, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Chris Hamnett, 2011. "Urban Social Polarization," Chapters, in: Ben Derudder & Michael Hoyler & Peter J. Taylor & Frank Witlox (ed.), International Handbook of Globalization and World Cities, chapter 32, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Ben Derudder & Michael Hoyler & Peter J. Taylor & Frank Witlox (ed.), 2011. "International Handbook of Globalization and World Cities," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13622.

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