Asuinalueiden sosiaalinen eriytyminen : Tapaustutkimus Matinkylästä

As the trend shifted from a socially balancing spatial composition to growing spatial differences in the Helsinki Metropolitan region, the fear of segregation was increased. The transition was brought by the 90’s recession associated with mass unemployment and an ICT-driven economic growth. Despite social mixing policies, social deprivation has been shown to accumulate into pockets of poverty without any spatial concentration. However, when measured by individual meters, the spatial differentiation and social polarisation of the Helsinki Metropolitan area is more detectable. The past urban studies and research of the Helsinki Metropolitan area have largely overlooked the internal socio-economic differences and changes within a single neighbourhood. The aim of the thesis is to examine the residential differentiation occurring in the Matinkylä area, which previous research has revealed to form a pocket of poverty within the region of southern Espoo, and also to locate the concentrations of deprivation and prosperity. Residential differentiation is approached not only from the viewpoint of the traditional urban theories, but also from the perspectives of national and local factors. Also discussion about the new spatial order of cities is covered. The regional perspective is approached by examining recent studies on spatial differentiation of the Helsinki Metropolitan region, which provides the framework for the research. The work also aims to take important factors, such as social changes, regional history and households preferences into a more detailed examination and study their effects on the social composition of Matinkylä’s neighbourhoods. The case study is carried out by examining individual indicators designed to reflect the structural and socio-economic distinctions between neighbourhoods and differences in the characteristics of the households, which are visualised into cartographic representations using statistical and GIS methods. Research reveals that Matinkylä as an area is significantly polarized between the deprived and the prosperous parts of population that are spatially segregated into their own neighbourhoods. A significant deprived part of population is concentrated in Matinmetsä’s and Tiistilä’s suburban apartment blocks built in 70’s and 80’s. This group is characterised by relatively low income and educational levels with higher rates of unemployment and proportional number of immigrants. The prosperous elite with high educational status is concentrated in Nuottaniemi, an affluent residential area constituted of single-family houses at the seashore of Matinkylä. Based on the study the building stock and form of tenure of the residential areas seem to have a strong influence on the formation of the social structure. Matinkylä’s regional differentiation seems to be resulting from differentiation of the elite from other socioeconomic groups rather than being a trend toward segregation as prosperity in Matinkylä is more clearly and strongly spatially concentrated than deprivation. This is also supported by the result that the share of socially underprivileged is not growing in absolute terms within any of the neighbourhood. However, dualistic features are clearly visible in the spatial distribution of different households, but the change that has occurred during the last decade indicates a trend toward socio-economic balancing between neighbourhoods at least by some measurements. From the perspective of the factors affecting regional differentiation examined in this work urban planning and housing policies seem to have an important effect on the spatial differentiation of Matinkylä as they create a specific and distinctive building and housing stocks, as well as housing tenures in different areas. It seems that Matinkylä’s regional structure, natural environment and neighbourhoods’ reputations have steered different kinds of households into different neighbourhoods according to their life phases, preferences and socio-economic status. Spatial distribution of the households has led to the emergence of social disparities between neighbourhoods and created the spatial differentiation of Matinkylä.