ghettoization

Ghettoization is the process by which a population becomes spatially concentrated in a specific area, typically a neighborhood or district, characterized by high levels of poverty, limited access to services, and social marginalization. The term has historical roots in the compelled or voluntary concentration of groups in urban quarters, but in contemporary usage it often describes residential segregation along lines of race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status.

Mechanisms include discriminatory housing practices such as redlining and steering, income inequality, market forces that push poorer residents into cheaper areas, rising housing costs elsewhere, urban renewal and demolition that displace residents, and the way school and public service boundaries reinforce locality-based disparities. Policies and practices, both formal and informal, shape access to housing, employment, transportation, and credit.

Consequences include concentrated poverty and disinvestment, limited access to quality education, health care, and employment opportunities, higher exposure to crime and violence, social stigma, and political marginalization. The effects often persist across generations through limited social mobility and intergenerational transmission of disadvantage.

Scholars debate the concept and its utility. Some emphasize structural and systemic drivers, while others caution against essentializing neighborhoods or blaming residents. The term is used variably across countries and contexts, and it may obscure differences within areas labeled as ghettos.

Policy responses focus on reducing segregation and improving living conditions through anti-discrimination enforcement, inclusionary zoning or housing-mobility programs, investments in education and services, and community-led planning aimed at expanding opportunity without displacing residents.