Geographies of Whiteness and Wealth: White, Middle Class Discourses on Segregation and Social Mix in Flanders, Belgium

• Published in: Journal of urban affairs 2015-10, Vol.37 (4), p.478-495
• Main Authors: Schuermans, Nick, Meeus, Bruno, Decker, Pascal De
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Disadvantaged; Middle class; Minority & ethnic groups; Minority groups; Neighborhoods; Policy making; Residents; Segregation; Social classes; Social privilege; Suburban areas; Urban areas; Urban studies; Wealth; White people
• ISSN: 0735-2166; 1467-9906
• DOI: 10.1111/juaf.12155

While policy makers in different parts of the world are worried about the supposedly negative consequences of spatial concentrations of ethnic minorities and/or disadvantaged people, researchers continue the debate about the desirability and feasibility of social mix. In this article, we add to this literature by focusing on the often neglected, but crucial practices and discourses of the privileged in urban and suburban neighborhoods. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 74 white, middle class residents of eight different neighborhoods of the Ghent urban region in Belgium, we demonstrate that few middle class whites actually want to live in a mixed neighborhood. We also make it clear that those living in diversity do not necessarily take up the roles they are expected to take up by the advocates of social mix policies. Drawing on these findings, we propose to broaden the research agenda of studies on segregation and social mix.