Explaining spatial concentrations of the poor in metropolitan Melbourne

Analysis of data from the 1996 Census for six Melbourne localities suggests that some recent explanations for spatial concentrations of the poor in metropolitan areas are incomplete. In these middle-suburban locations the better-off are moving out, leaving behind those with less resources. While people of Australian or English-speaking background are more likely than those of non-English-speaking background (NESB) to leave, the inflow from overseas is predominantly of poor NESB people. Together, these two processes are adding to the spatial concentrations of the poor in Melbourne Copyright. Monash University and the author/s