Segregation in the spanish metropolis 2001-2011: A detailed territorial analysis

Abstract

Over the decade 2001 to 2011, major changes occurred in Spanish society and cities: the rise and fall of a large real estate market, population transformations following years of large-scale international immigration and the strong development of suburbanization. Have these transformations affected the traditionally stable socio-territorial distribution of the population? The 2011 census, key to a quantitative response, uses a large sample instead of a universal approach. This is not an issue problem for aggregate data, but does pose a problem for a detailed territorial analysis. A substantive analysis of segregation requires such territorial detail because it occurs in large metropolitan areas composed of numerous dense, compact and heterogeneous nuclei. Our results highlight a specific type of polarization based on the fragmentation of disadvantaged spaces. Only at this detailed scale can we obtain a basis for evaluating the impact of urban intervention policies on fragmentation. In addition to the classical segregation metrics, local spatial autocorrelation indicators (LISA) allow us explain changes in the socio-territorial distribution of the metropolitan regions of Barcelona and Madrid during the period 2001-2011. We analyze four population groups that serve as a basis to establish hierarchical relations of inequality: occupational categories (managers and technicians and professionals or skilled workers), country of birth, higher education, and size of residence.