Issues related to segregation and integration are major responsibilities and challenges for cities, and a segregated urban environment can be understood as a symptom of wider social injustices. In this brief overview of current research on residential segregation the focus is on structural reasons to segregation. This means that it is planning policies and tendencies in socio-economic development that are discussed, rather than specific social integration measures and projects. But, there is an obvious arena where these two approaches to segregation meet, and that is in the local community and its spaces for social interaction. This is important to keep in mind, that the integrated city is both a result of strategies and initiatives on a micro scale, in the neighbourhood and between individuals, and initiatives and development on a macro scale. This report is part of a theme on segregation within the Nordic collaboration programme for effective integration and inclusion of refugees and immigrants in the Nordic countries. Read more at www.integrationnorden.org