Report: Cities Segregating by Employment Type—Not Just Income Level

New analysis from Richard Florida and the Martin Prosperity Institute maps segregation by employment type, finding the darker effects of the creative class.

1 minute read

September 29, 2014, 1:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


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Emily Badger shares insight into new analysis by Richard Florida and the Martin Prosperity Institute that uses American Community Survey data to map the types of occupations held by residents of American cities. The analysis produces findings that expand beyond traditional understandings of segregation as measured merely by income level, according to Badger:

Their results point to a different picture of socioeconomic segregation in American cities — one divided more explicitly by the nature and type of work we do, rather than how much money we make doing it — than we're used to discussing.

The analysis separates workers into three classes, derived from Florida's research: "creative class," "service class," and "working class." Among the observations Badger provides in her take is that the 12 surveyed cities have retained "strikingly few working-class strongholds."

The study was released today, timed for the second annual CityLab conference in Los Angeles. Florida has also provided his own take on the study.

Monday, September 29, 2014 in The Washington Post - Wonkblog

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

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