Spatial Distribution and Influencing Factors of Single-Person Households with Social Isolation in Seoul, South Korea

Sunwoong Yoon and Kyusang Kwon ()
Additional contact information
Sunwoong Yoon: Department of Urban Engineering, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, Republic of Korea
Kyusang Kwon: Department of Urban Engineering, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, Republic of Korea

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 3, 1-17

Abstract: Previous studies on social isolation and quality of life in single-person households (SPHs) faced limitations in identifying socially isolated groups in a citywide and detailed spatial range. The emergence of big data from various sources offers new possibilities for studying the relationship between SPHs and social isolation. This study examined the spatial distribution of SPHs at high risk of social isolation by age group and the influencing factors for Seoul, South Korea, using Seoul Citizen Life Data. Local indicators of spatial association clustering and spatial econometric models were used for the analyses. The results show, first, that SPHs are concentrated in areas with a high proportion of small- and medium-sized houses and non-apartment-type housing. Second, clear spatial distribution patterns based on life-cycle characteristics exist, with young people clustering near universities and employment centers and older people clustering in residential areas. Third, these life-cycle patterns are not as evident for SPHs with a higher risk of social isolation. Our findings show that not all SPHs can be considered a group with a high risk of social isolation, and the residential patterns of socially isolated SPHs differ from those of typical SPHs throughout their life cycle.

Keywords: single-person households; social isolation; living alone; Seoul Citizen Life Data; big data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/3/1280/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/3/1280/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:3:p:1280-:d:1332210

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().