Score contribution per author:
α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
•The history of a city matters for understanding its current social structure.•The evolution of the city's structure is strongly related to the generation and the valuation of urban amenities.•Lock in effects appear: once an area has been occupied by a social group, it tends to stay occupied by the same group.•The combination of amenities and differentiated transport costs generates a multitude of stable spatial structures.