Abstract
This paper proposes a new method for analyzing the segregation between point distributions. Though there have been proposed numerous methods and measures in segregation analysis, they have at least three deficiencies: (1) statistical significance of segregation is not evaluated, (2) detailed attributes of points are not considered, and (3) the relationship between different dimensions of segregation is not fully discussed. To resolve these problems, this paper proposes a new method for analyzing the segregation between point distributions. We introduce a general procedure of evaluating the individual components of segregation. This procedure helps us find independent components of segregation and provides a means of assessing their statistical significance. It also permits us to take into account the detailed attributes of points in segregation analysis. To test the validity of the proposed method, we apply it to the analysis of synthetic and real datasets. The result supports the technical soundness of the method and provides empirical findings.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen JP, Turner E (1989) The most ethnically diverse urban places in the United States. Urban Geogr 10(6):523–539
Brown LA, Chung S-Y (2006) Spatial segregation, segregation indices and the geographical perspective. Popul Space Place 12(2):125–143
Cliff AD, Ord JK (1973) Spatial autocorrelation. Pion, London
Cliff AD, Ord JK (1981) Spatial processes: models & applications. Pion, London
Cortese CF, Frank FR, Cohen JK (1976) Further considerations on the methodological analysis of segregation indices. Am Sociol Rev 41(4):630–637
Davis PJ, Rabinowitz P (1984) Methods of numerical integration. Dover, New York
Deurloo MC, de Vos S (2008) Measuring segregation at the micro level: an application of the M measure to multi-ethnic residential neighbourhoods in Amsterdam. Tijdschrift Voor Economische en Sociale Geografie 99(3):329–347
Duncan OD, Duncan B (1955) A methodological analysis of segregation indexes. Am Sociol Rev 20(2):210–217
Echenique F, Fryer RG (2007) A measure of segregation based on social interactions. Q J Econ 122(2):441–485
Farber S, Páez A, Morency C (2012) Activity spaces and the measurement of clustering and exposure: a case study of linguistic groups in Montreal. Environ Plan A 44(2):315–332
Gini C (1936) On the measure of concentration with special reference to income and statistics. Colo Coll Publ Gen Ser 208:73–79
Gopal U, Goodchild MF (1989) The accuracy of spatial databases. CRC Press, London
Goreaud F, Pélissier R (2003) Avoiding misinterpretation of biotic interactions with the intertype K12-function: population independence vs. random labelling hypotheses. J Veg Sci 14(5):681–692
Griffith DA (1987) Spatial autocorrelation: a primer. Association of American Geographers, Washington
Hildelbrand FB (1987) Introduction to numerical analysis. Dover, New York
Hunsaker CT, Goodchild MF, Friedl MA, Case TJ (2001) Spatial uncertainty in ecology: implications for remote sensing and GIS applications. Springer, Berlin
James DR, Taeuber KE (1985) Measures of segregation. In: Tuma NB (ed) Sociological methodology, vol 14. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, pp 1–32
Johnston R, Poulsen M, Forrest J (2007) Ethnic and racial segregation in U.S. metropolitan areas, 1980–2000. Urban Aff Rev 42(4):479–504
Johnston R, Poulsen M, Forrest J (2011) Evaluating changing residential segregation in Auckland, New Zealand, using spatial statistics. Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie 102(1):1–23
Knuth DE (1968) The art of computer programming. Addison-Wesley, Reading
Li H, Reynolds JF (1993) A new contagion index to quantify spatial patterns of landscapes. Landsc Ecol 8(3):155–162
Logan JR, Zhang W, Alba RD (2002) Immigrant enclaves and ethnic communities in New York and Los Angeles. Am Sociol Rev 67(2):299–322
Massey DS (1985) Ethnic residential segregation: a theoretical synthesis and empirical review. Sociol Soc Res 69(3):315–350
Massey DS, Denton SA (1988) The dimensions of residential segregation. Soc Forces 67(2):281–315
Morgan BS (1983) An alternative approach to the development of a distance-based measure of racial segregation. Am J Sociol 88(6):1237–1249
Morrill RL (1991) On the measure of geographic segregation. Geogr Res Forum 11(1):25–36
Morrill RL (1995) Racial segregation and class in a liberal metropolis. Geogr Anal 27(1):22–41
Mucientes GR, Queiroz N, Sousa LL, Tarroso P, Sims DW (2009) Sexual segregation of pelagic sharks and the potential threat from fisheries. Biol Lett 5(2):156–159
O’Neill RV, Krummel JR, Gardner RH, Sugihara G, Jackson B, DeAngelis DL, Milne BT, Turner MG, Zygmunt B, Christensen SW, Dale VH, Graham RL (1988) Indices of landscape pattern. Landsc Ecol 1(3):153–162
O’Sullivan D, Wong DWS (2007) A surface-based approach to measuring spatial segregation. Geogr Anal 39(2):147–168
Páez A, Ruiz M, Lopez F, Logan J (2012) Measuring ethnic clustering and exposure with the Q statistic: an exploratory analysis of Irish, Germans, and Yankees in 1880 Newark. Ann Assoc Am Geogr 102(1):84–102
Pielou EC (1977) Mathematical ecology. Wiley, New York
Poulsen M, Johnston R, Forrest J (2011) Using local statistics and neighbourhood classifications to portray ethnic residential segregation: a London example. Environ Plan B 38(4):636–658
Reardon SF (2009) Measures of ordinal segregation. Res Econ Inequal 17:129–155
Reardon SF, Bischoff K (2011) Income inequality and income segregation. Am J Sociol 116(4):1092–1153
Reardon SF, O’Sullivan D (2004) Measures of spatial segregation. Sociol Methodol 34(1):121–162
Reardon SF, Firebaugh G, O’Sullivan D, Matthews SA (2006) Measures of socioeconomic segregation. Paper presented at the 29th general conference of the International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, Joensuu, Finland, August 20–26
Reardon SF, Farrell CR, Matthews SA, O’Sullivan D, Bischoff K, Firebaugh G (2009) Race and space in the 1990s: changes in the geographic scale of racial residential segregation, 1990–2000. Soc Sci Res 38(1):55–70
Riitters KH, O’Neill RV, Wickham JD, Jones KB (1996) A note on contagion indices for landscape analysis. Landsc Ecol 11(4):197–202
Ruiz M, López F, Páez A (2009) Testing for spatial association of qualitative data using symbolic dynamics. J Geogr Syst 12(3):281–309
Sadahiro Y, Hong S-Y (2013) Decomposition approach to the measurement of spatial segregation. CSIS Discussion Paper Series No. 119 Center for Spatial Information Science, The University of Tokyo. http://www.csis.u-tokyo.ac.jp/dp/119.pdf
Sedgewick R, Wayne K (1983) Algorithms. Addison-Wesley, Reading
Shi W, Fisher P, Goodchild MF (2002) Spatial data quality. CRC Press, London
Silverman BW (1986) Density estimation for statistics and data analysis. CRC Press, Boca Raton
Spielman S, Logan JR (2013) Using high-resolution population data to identify neighborhoods and establish their boundaries. Ann Assoc Am Geogr 103(1):67–84
Theil H, Finizza AJ (1971) A note on the measurement of racial integration of schools. J Math Sociol 1(2):187–193
White MJ (1983) The measurement of spatial segregation. Am J Sociol 88(5):1008–1018
White MJ (1986) Segregation and diversity measures of spatial segregation. Am Popul Index 52(2):198–221
Winship C (1977) A revaluation of indexes of residential segregation. Soc Forces 55(4):1058–1066
Wong DWS (1993) Spatial indices of segregation. Urban Stud 30(3):559–572
Wong DWS (2001) Location-specific cumulative distribution functions (LSCDF): an alternative to spatial correlation analysis. Geogr Anal 33(1):76–93
Wong DWS, Shaw SL (2011) Measuring segregation: an activity space approach. J Geogr Syst 13(2):127–145
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sadahiro, Y. A method for analyzing the segregation between point distributions: statistical tests and consideration of attributes. J Geogr Syst 17, 29–60 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10109-014-0205-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10109-014-0205-z