Abstract
This chapter summarises common themes covered in this volume and highlights areas for further empirical investigation. It is argued that there is a tendency to blame the ‘immoral’ super-rich for the dramatic growth of urban inequalities and the related hyper-division of cities. It is suggested that this accusatory reading should be complemented by empirical research into the precise involvement of the super-rich vis-a-vis other drivers. With this objective in mind, we pose five key questions: What is new about current forms of hyper-division and wealth inequality? What are the roles of structures and intermediaries, in addition to the super-rich? How are governments and their policies implicated? What about transformed urban economies in the context of the financialisation–urbanisation nexus? Are there geographical variations regarding cities and the super-rich?
The work for this conclusion was supported by a grant from the ESRC/RGC Joint Research Scheme sponsored by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council and the Economic and Social Research Council in the United Kingdom (Project reference no: ES/K010263/1).
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Forrest, R., Koh, S.Y., Wissink, B. (2017). Hyper-Divided Cities and the ‘Immoral’ Super-Rich: Five Parting Questions. In: Forrest, R., Koh, S., Wissink, B. (eds) Cities and the Super-Rich. The Contemporary City. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54834-4_14
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