Social Ladders
Urban Inequality and the Ideal of Social Mobility
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Oxford University Press Inc
Publishing:17th Oct '26
£19.99
This title is due to be published on 17th October, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
Social Ladders offers a new understanding of a core ideal in political, public, and academic discourses on low-income neighbourhoods: that of promoting upward mobility. It explores the contradictions between the lofty promises of social mobility in marginalised areas, its ambivalent politics and its complex manifestations in people's lived experiences. The analysis put forward in this book invites readers to fundamentally question upward mobility as an effective strategy for enhancing social justice in marginalised neighbourhoods. Drawing on international case studies as well as in-depth fieldwork in Germany, the book depicts the ideal of social mobility from multiple perspectives. Social Ladders, then, is not only an account of how the language of social mobility is used and abused as a way of ignoring the primary needs and problems of disadvantaged communities. It also argues that to understand its divisive nature and hidden costs, we need to hear from more than just the few who have 'made it' up the ladder to social and economic success. We must also include the voices of those commonly seen as having been 'left behind'.
'This beautifully evocative book traces the long and dark shadow of upward social mobility not only in the lives of those who enjoy this 'success' but also for their families and neighbours. With great skill and empathy Miro Born exposes the deep scars that mobility etches, both across people's lived experience, and on the urban landscape itself. Anyone who is naïve enough to think that promoting social mobility is a social policy panacea should heed the lessons of this haunting book.' MIKE SAVAGE, author of The Return of Inequality: Social Change and the Weight of the Past
'This book is a rarity - an academic book that is gripping from beginning to end. Powerful, evocative, and brilliantly written, it tells a story of social mobility we all need to hear.' DIANE REAY, author of Miseducation: Inequality, Education and the Working Classes
'This magnificent, original and engaging book provides a sensitive analysis of the effects of upward social mobility on those 'left behind' by as well as those who 'made it'. Its careful and multifaceted approach shows that the pursuit of upward mobility is not a cure for social inequality. Instead, as Born persuasively argues, it tends to ignore the needs and problems of disadvantaged communities and fuel destructive forms of urban policy and planning. Social Ladders is a powerful and necessary read and will make a significant contribution to a wide range of disciplines and policy debates.' JO LITTLER, author of Against Meritocracy: Culture, Power and Myths of Mobility
'Social Ladders by Miro Born offers a rich and highly original spatial perspective on the age-old sociological theme of 'moving up' the social scale. The book provides novel insights into the power of stigmatisation in relation to marginalised urban neighbourhoods-especially regarding what leaving the old 'hood' means both for those who depart and, importantly, for those who stay 'behind'. PAUL WATT, author of Estate Regeneration and Its Discontents: Public Housing, Place and Inequality in London
'In this important and highly original book, Miro Born explores the costs of social mobility - not only for those who strive to move upward, but also for those left behind, who may experience a sense of demoralization.' STEFFEN MAU, co-author of Trigger Points: Inequality and Political Polarization in Contemporary Society
ISBN: 9780197825068
Dimensions: 234mm x 159mm x 12mm
Weight: 218g
160 pages