Mapping the Origins of Segregation using GIS Resources

California State University-Fresno Foundation, Fresno CA

Investigators

Abstract

Residential segregation continues to define many communities and is associated with numerous social and economic consequences. This project develops new empirical findings and understandings on residential segregation and an open-access digital database with opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration to understand and map the historical origins of contemporary patterns of residential segregation. The digital data hub and archive for this project will give researchers the capability to map, analyze, and document historical and contemporary segregation patterns in communities using restricted historical census data, innovative new methods of segregation analysis, and geographic information systems (GIS) mapping. The digital hub will facilitate collaboration with researchers, who will contribute and use data and mapping resources archived on the project's website for teaching and research. By building a research network to support the collaborative digital data hub and platform, offering workshops, and an open graduate-level research methods course, this project more broadly increases the research capacity and student experiences. Prior research on historical segregation has been limited to using aggregate data that cannot sustain analyses of the locational attainments and household-level residential outcomes that shape segregation patterns. This constrains the ability to compare historical patterns of residential mobility and segregation with findings for contemporary urban areas. The goal of this project is to fill this gap in knowledge by using new data sources and new methods for segregation analysis. In addition, the project will develop new GIS resources to document unique aspects that address long-standing research questions about historical segregation patterns in 1940 including: dispersed vs. concentrated patterns of segregation; back-alley "integration" of residents in urban areas; and complex patterns of spatial separation of immigrant groups. An equally important goal is to develop a collaborative digital platform and network of faculty and student researchers who will generate new knowledge on historical segregation and neighborhood narratives through interdisciplinary and mixed-methods contributions, supported by the materials, workshops, and courses offered by the PI and Co-PI. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.