of childcare facilities in recent years. A study published in March 2025 shows that neighbourhoods with a higher socio-economic status benefit disproportionately.

Children in these neighbourhoods have significantly better access to childcare than children in neighbourhoods of lower socio-economic status, where the proportion of the population with a university degree is lower. This unequal spatial distribution of childcare facilities is mainly due to the fact that independent (often small) non-profit and church-related childcare facilities are more likely to be located in neighbourhoods with a higher socio-economic status. Public providers, on the other hand, are more likely to be located in lower status neighbourhoods, thus having a compensatory effect. One way of addressing this inequality of access would be to differentiate public funding for childcare providers according to neighbourhood status.

The study "Unequal access to childcare in cities: Is equal public funding sufficient?" was published in the journal Urban Studies, Michaela Neumayr is one of the three authors.

https://www.urbanstudiesonline.com/unequal-access-to-childcare-in-cities-is-equal-public-funding-sufficient/