Spatial mismatch

In its original formulation (see below) and in subsequent research, it has mostly been understood as a phenomenon affecting African-Americans, as a result of residential segregation, economic restructuring, and the suburbanization of employment.

[2] In 1987, William Julius Wilson was an important exponent, elaborating the role of economic restructuring, as well as the departure of the black middle-class, in the development of a ghetto underclass in the United States.

Since its conceptualization in the late 1960s, the spatial mismatch hypothesis has been widely cited to explain the economic problems encountered by inner-city minorities.

[4] In 2007, Laurent Gobillon, Harris Selod, and Yves Zenou suggested that there are seven different factors that support the spatial mismatch phenomenon.

The remaining three factors stress employers' reluctance to divert away from the negative stigma of city people and in particular minorities when hiring.

According to the spatial mismatch theory, opportunities for low-income people are located far away from where they live.
Suburban shopping malls took employment out of the inner city.
Urban redevelopment projects such as Pruitt–Igoe in St. Louis concentrated and separated workers from their surroundings and work. Such projects created a ghettoized underclass in America.