Inequalities that cause segregation and deterioration: Territory and the environment

The foregoing chapters have analysed various dimensions of inequality and the adverse effects it has on productivity by restricting the development of capacities and limiting opportunities to make use of them. This chapter addresses other dimensions of inequality that are closely related to those already studied. One of these is territorial, since poverty or low levels of development are concentrated in certain areas and not in others. Cities are part of this territorial dynamic, in which development tends to be concentrated in certain spaces and to generate polarization, both within cities themselves and in relation to the rural world. Other inequalities relate to environmental degradation: the lower-income sectors suffer most from the negative consequences of pollution in urban areas, and poor subsistence farmers are forced to work in the most degraded rural ecosystems. Moreover, the infrastructure endowment and its existing investment patterns serve to consolidate and reproduce territorial and environmental inequalities.

Sustainable Development Goals:

Decent Work and Economic Growth

Reduced Inequalities