The Sociology of Spatial Inequality

The Sociology of Spatial Inequality is a 2007 edited volume by sociologists Linda M. Lobao, Gregory Hooks, and Ann R. Tickamyer, published by SUNY Press. The book argues that sociology's central question about the distribution of valued resources, "who gets what and why," has historically neglected the role of geographic space, and proposes a revised framing: "who gets what where." Based on contributions from sociologists and geographers, the volume addresses what the editors term the "missing middle" in inequality research: the subnational scale of regions, states, and places that falls between the well-studied levels of the city and the nation-state. The book grew out of a 2002 workshop at The Ohio State University, funded by the American Sociological Association and National Science Foundation through a Fund for the Advancement of the Discipline grant. The editors combine theoretical essays on the conceptualization of space, place, and scale with empirical studies on subjects including welfare reform, mortality, poverty, migration, and urban service distribution across the United States.