2018/02/20 by Jing Yao, David W. S. Wong, David W.S. Wong +3 · 122 citations
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Engineering · Mathematics · Social Sciences · #Cartography #Computer science #Data science #Econometrics #Engineering #Geography #Management science #Mathematics #Political science #Population #Representation (politics) #Scale (ratio) #Sociology #Space (punctuation) #Spatial and Panel Data Analysis #Spatial ecology #Urban Transport and Accessibility #Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies
paper · open access · doi:10.1111/tesg.12305
published in Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie 110(3), 235-250 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 2018/02/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
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.