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Spatial Segregation Measures: A Methodological Review
Author(s) -
Yao Jing,
Wong David W.S.,
Bailey Nick,
Minton Jonathan
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.766
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1467-9663
pISSN - 0040-747X
DOI - 10.1111/tesg.12305
Subject(s) - representation (politics) , space (punctuation) , computer science , scale (ratio) , data science , population , spatial ecology , management science , econometrics , geography , cartography , mathematics , sociology , political science , engineering , ecology , demography , politics , law , biology , operating system
Abstract Quantitative indices of segregation are powerful tools for summarising the spatial relationships between population groups and thereby providing the basis for analysis and public policy intervention. While the broad concept of segregation may be intuitive, measurement is challenging because of the complexity of varied dimensions and spatial arrangements. Many traditional measures can be criticised for over‐simplification or over‐reduction, not least in their treatment of geographical space. Over the last several decades, however, a series of measures has been developed to explicitly incorporate the spatial arrangement of population groups as well as their interactions. This paper reviews the development of spatial segregation measures, particularly focusing on the mathematical formulation of spatial arrangement/relations. In addition, several related issues are discussed, including representation of spatial interaction, spatial scale and statistical inferences. Also, this paper presents an overview of existing software tools that are readily available for calculating some of the reviewed measures. Finally, discussions on challenges and future research are provided.