Horizontal Examination: Micro-segregation Mechanism in the Diverse Area of Whitechapel

Abstract

This chapter examines the effect of social relations and social identity on residential patterns in Whitechapel. Whitechapel is an extremely diverse neighbourhood at the urban level. However, the inner neighbourhood level reveals fundamental ‘micro-segregation’ that appears at the building and neighbourhood levels. The detailed data collected via in-depth survey enables us to reveal powerful mechanisms that regulate this segregated pattern. The research has also exposed the concurrent impact of the building- and neighbourhood-level factors on segregation patterns, contributing to an estimation of the role of inner cities space for maintaining communities’ identities. As the religious communities of Whitechapel revealed, spatial patterns reflect urban identities and meaningful social relations within meaningful parochial realms. Going beyond the case study of Whitechapel, this micro-segregation mechanism could explain other dynamics in dense urban cities, where mixed apartment houses host different communities.