More Like this

1. Measuring social equity in urban energy use and interventions using fine-scale data

   https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2023554118  

   Tong, Kangkang; Ramaswami, Anu; Xu, Corey; Feiock, Richard; Schmitz, Patrick; Ohlsen, Michael (June 2021, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

   null (Ed.)

   Cities seek nuanced understanding of intraurban inequality in energy use, addressing both income and race, to inform equitable investment in climate actions. However, nationwide energy consumption surveys are limited (<6,000 samples in the United States), and utility-provided data are highly aggregated. Limited prior analyses suggest disparity in energy use intensity (EUI) by income is ∼25%, while racial disparities are not quantified nor unpacked from income. This paper, using new empirical fine spatial scale data covering all 200,000 households in two US cities, along with separating temperature-sensitive EUI, reveals intraurban EUI disparities up to a factor of five greater than previously known. We find 1) annual EUI disparity ratios of 1.27 and 1.66, comparing lowest- versus highest-income block groups (i.e., 27 and 66% higher), while previous literature indicated only ∼25% difference; 2) a racial effect distinct from income, wherein non-White block groups (highest quintile non-White percentage) in the lowest-income stratum reported up to a further ∼40% higher annual EUI than less diverse block groups, providing an empirical estimate of racial disparities; 3) separating temperature-sensitive EUI unmasked larger disparities, with heating–cooling electricity EUI of lowest-income block groups up to 2.67 times (167% greater) that of highest income, and high racial disparity within lowest-income strata wherein high non-White (>75%) population block groups report EUI up to 2.56 times (156% larger) that of majority White block groups; and 4) spatial scales of data aggregation impact inequality measures. Quadrant analyses are developed to guide spatial prioritization of energy investment for carbon mitigation and equity. These methods are potentially translatable to other cities and utilities. 

   more » « less
2. Wealth and Well-being in an Ancient Maya Community: A Framework for Studying the Quality of Life in Past Societies

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-021-09508-8  

   Munson, Jessica; Scholnick, Jonathan (January 2021, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory)

   null (Ed.)

   Inequality is an intrinsic element of contemporary societies, with high income disparity impacting everything from life expectancy to violent crime. While inequality in today’s society is complex and multifaceted, the prominence and persistence of inequality that existed throughout human history raise important questions about its broader impacts in the past. In this paper, we discuss the concept of quality of life (QOL) for archaeology and introduce methods for studying multiple dimensions of wealth and well-being in past societies. Using previously published burial data from the ancient Maya site of Altar de Sacrificios, we illustrate this approach employing notions of personhood that treat individuals embedded in complex socio-material relations. These data enable diachronic analyses in the degree and kinds of inequality that characterized this Maya community over a span of nearly 2000 years. We further discuss how these techniques can apply to other units of archaeological analysis and comparative case studies. Tracing the disparities in material wealth, social well-being, and health through time enables a more detailed analysis of the specific contexts and historical processes that gave rise to varying degrees of inequality in the past. 

   more » « less
3. Frontier workers and the seedbeds of inequality and prosperity

   https://doi.org/10.1093/jeg/lbad018  

   Connor, Dylan_Shane; Kemeny, Tom; Storper, Michael (August 2023, Journal of Economic Geography)

   Abstract This article examines the role of work at the cutting of technological change—frontier work—as a driver of prosperity and spatial income inequality. Using new methods and data, we analyze the geography and incomes of frontier workers from 1880 to 2019. Initially, frontier work is concentrated in a set of ‘seedbed’ locations, contributing to rising spatial inequality through powerful localized wage premiums. As technologies mature, the economic distinctiveness of frontier work diminishes, as ultimately happened to cities like Manchester and Detroit. Our work uncovers a plausible general origin story of the unfolding of spatial income inequality. 

   more » « less
4. Divided infrastructure: legal exclusion and water inequality in an urban slum in Mumbai, India

   https://doi.org/10.1177/09562478221121737  

   Lubeck-Schricker, Maya; Patil-Deshmukh, Anita; Murthy, Sharmila L; Chaubey, Munni Devi; Boomkar, Baliram; Shaikh, Nizamuddin; Shitole, Tejal; Eliasziw, Misha; Subbaraman, Ramnath (April 2023, Environment and Urbanization)

   Inadequate water access is central to the experience of urban inequality across low- and middle-income countries and leads to adverse health and social outcomes. Previous literature on water inequality in Mumbai, India’s second-largest city, offers diverse explanations for water disparities between and within slums. This study provides new insights on water disparities in Mumbai’s slums by evaluating the influence of legal status on water access. We analysed data from 593 households in Mandala, a slum with legally recognized (notified) and unrecognized (non-notified) neighbourhoods. Households in a non-notified neighbourhood suffered relative disadvantages in water infrastructure, accessibility, reliability and spending. Non-notified households also used significantly fewer litres per capita per day of water, even after controlling for religion and socioeconomic status. Findings suggest that legal exclusion may be a central driver of water inequality. Extending legal recognition to excluded slum settlements, neighbourhoods and households could be a powerful intervention for reducing urban water inequality. 

   more » « less
5. Income Growth and the Distributional Effects of Urban Spatial Sorting

   https://doi.org/10.1093/restud/rdad048  

   Couture, Victor; Gaubert, Cecile; Handbury, Jessie; Hurst, Erik (April 2023, Review of Economic Studies)

   Abstract We explore the impact of rising incomes at the top of the distribution on spatial sorting patterns within large U.S. cities. We develop and quantify a spatial model of a city with heterogeneous agents and non-homothetic preferences for neighbourhoods with endogenous amenity quality. As the rich get richer, demand increases for the high-quality amenities available in downtown neighbourhoods. Rising demand drives up house prices and spurs the development of higher quality neighbourhoods downtown. This gentrification of downtowns makes poor incumbents worse off, as they are either displaced to the suburbs or pay higher rents for amenities that they do not value as much. We quantify the corresponding impact on well-being inequality. Through the lens of the quantified model, the change in the income distribution between 1990 and 2014 led to neighbourhood change and spatial resorting within urban areas that increased the welfare of richer households relative to that of poorer households, above and beyond rising nominal income inequality. 

   more » « less