Social mix in Western countries

In Western countries, it appears to have become ‘fashionable’ for politicians who are engaged in urban issues to argue for more social mix of the population at the neighbourhood level. It is assumed that a concentration of poverty reproduces a lack of social opportunities. Therefore, a more balanced population was aimed for, through social engineering and mixing the housing stock, that is by physical restructuring. Much criticism argues that these physical methods are too indirect for solving social problems and that there is a lack of empirical evidence for the claim that social mix would be good for people. Recent comprehensive studies have found nonlinear and significant effects of neighbourhood composition, but the effects were moderate, and other factors, such as the level of education, remain more important. This implies that politicians should be aware of the mix effects, but simultaneously be cautious about putting too much weight on mix strategies. Further study of the relation between neighbourhood composition characteristics and social outcomes is required.