Socio-spatial polarization and the (re-)distribution of deprived groups in world cities: A case study of Hong Kong

This paper draws on theoretical discussions of world cities to analyze socio-spatial polarization and (re-)distribution of deprived groups in Hong Kong in the 2000s. Intensifying global economic restructuring processes have induced socio-economic polarization, thereby producing deprived groups although the spatial outcomes may depend on the city-specific context. When local policies do not counteract the polarization trend, a spatial manifestation of widening socio-economic gaps can be expected. Intensified pro-growth policies adopted since Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule in 1997 and during its economic recession in the early 2000s have worsened the impact of globalization-induced socio-economic and spatial restructuring. Census data from 2001 and 2011 show increasingly differentiated socio-economic profiles at the district level. The analysis offered in this study also points to a decreased socially mixed society in 2011 when the deprived groups lived in districts with less presence of the advantaged population.