 The Shortest Path Isolation Index: A New Measure for Individual-level Residential SegregationRoss W. Fineman Sociological Methods & Research, 2020, vol. 49, issue 3, 742-777 Abstract: The study of segregation is essential for understanding how place influences life outcomes. Traditional segregation indices rely heavily on the use of areal units for calculation, which risks introducing both measurement and interpretation error. Using individual-level data avoids many of the problems facing traditional area-level indices. However, few segregation indices currently exist that are capable of utilizing such data. Given that our understanding is only as good as our measurement, it is imperative that our measures accurately reflect our perceptions of segregation. Utilizing the recent release of the complete 1940 Census count data, this article details a new individual-level segregation measure—the shortest path isolation (SPI) index. The SPI index captures the degree of racial isolation experienced by an individual, regarding both distance and interpersonal contact. With West Philadelphia as a sample study area, this article highlights the benefits of the SPI index for studying segregation at the individual level. Keywords: residential segregation; measures of segregation; historical demography; isolation; spatial segregation; MAUP; network analyst; West Philadelphia; Philadelphia (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:somere:v:49:y:2020:i:3:p:742-777 Access Statistics for this article More articles in Sociological Methods & Research |
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