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Housing and Inequality: the case of Portugal
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Autores
Guimarães, Pedro
Orientador(es)
Resumo(s)
Numerous definitions of inequality exist, but at its core inequality refers to “the phenomenon of unequal and/or
unjust distribution of resources and opportunities among members of a given society” (Koh, 2020:269),
limiting the possibility for disadvantaged individuals or groups to benefit from certain opportunities in life
(health, education, housing, etc.).
In the fields of urban studies, sociology and geography, the study of inequality has been a constant, giving rise
to a vast research programme that has developed various new approaches. Inspired by Milanovic (2012), we
can identify three types of approach. In one type of approach, inequality is examined as a dependent variable. This is, for example, the case for
studies that use neo-Marxist theory to explain inequality as the consequence of class exploitation and class
struggle due to the imperatives of capitalist accumulation (Linklater, 1990; Piketty, 2014), or structuralfunctionalist
theory to explain inequality as the outcome of public administration that leads to processes of
social stratification and social reproduction (Merton, 1968; Fournier, 2013).
In other approaches inequality appears as a variable that explains other social, economic and urban
phenomena. In these approaches inequality is seen as a variable that either stimulates or prevents some
desirable economic outcome, such as economic growth, collective efficiency, and so on. Hamnett (2019), for
example, claims that educational attainment and economic development within a society is not random but
patterned and constrained by the impact that poverty and inequality have on the access of both youth and adults
to the education system. “People who live in nice houses in wealthy areas are likely to be healthier and have
better education levels” he argues (p. 246).
Finally, there is a third way in which inequality enters the realm of social scientists. That is when they raise
and address ethical issues related to inequality, and social or territorial injustice. In this type of approach
researchers problematize the role that public policies have played (through the distribution of resources such
as income or housing) in producing inequality, pointing out that this has limited the prospects of past, current
and future generations. Alves (2017b) makes the point that discriminatory attitudes towards the Gypsy/Roma
have delayed this population’s ability to settle and confined them to the least desirable social/public rented
housing, far from the privileged white neighborhoods with better connections to the labour market. Meanwhile
Van Baar (2011) claims that the nomad theory, which argues that Gypsy/Roma are “nomads” who can only
survive in segregated “camps” (Van Baar 2011: 207), isolating them from mainstream society, has helped
marginalize or even dehumanize this population, limiting their opportunities for social integration and social
mobility.
Descrição
O ficheiro anexo é uma cópia de autor.
Palavras-chave
Housing Inequality Portugal
Contexto Educativo
Citação
Alves, S. & Guimarães, P. (2024). Housing and Inequality: the case of Portugal. In: M. Lundahl, D. l. Rauhut & N. Hatti (Eds.). Inequality: Economic and Social Issues (chapter 9). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003387114
Editora
Routledge