Changes in the Social Composition of the Neighborhoods of Barcelona and Madrid: An Approach Using Migration and Residential Flows

Antonio Lopez-Gay , Centre d’Estudis Demogràfics (CED), Universitat de Barcelona
Andrea Andújar-Llosa, Universidad Pablo de Olavide

Numerous neighborhoods in Barcelona and Madrid are currently undergoing intense transformation of their social composition. Exclusive (and excluding) areas have seemed to expand within the context of the resurgence of central spaces. The literature suggests that in parallel with this expansion, the most vulnerable population is being displaced and concentrated in suburban areas with worse access to all types of services. These changing processes in social composition at the intraurban scale cannot be understood without underlining the key role of migration and residential mobility. This article analyzes annual data on migration and residential mobility based on the population register of both cities. For the first time in the country, we have been able to include the variable level of studies to the dataset, which allows us to dissect the processes of substitution, polarization and segregation of the population.

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 Presented in Session 7. Migration & Urbanization