A Multiscalar Analysis of Neighborhood Composition in Los Angeles, 2000–2010: A Location-Based Approach to Segregation and Diversity

Abstract

There continues to be cross-disciplinary interest in the patterns, extent, and changing contexts of segregation and spatial inequality more generally. The changes are clearly context dependent but at the same time there are broad generalizations that arise from the processes of residential sorting and selection. A major question in U.S. segregation research is how the growth of Asian and Hispanic populations is influencing patterns of segregation and diversity at the neighborhood level. In this article we use a variant of a nearest neighbor approach to map, graph, and evaluate patterns of race and ethnicity at varying scales. We show that using a multiscalar approach to segregation can provide a detailed and more complete picture of segregation. The research confirms work from other studies that segregation is decreasing between some groups and increasing between others, and the patterns, and processes can be described as dynamic diversity. In a series of maps of ethnic clusters and population homogeneity we show how metropolitan areas, represented in this case by Los Angeles, now display patterns of complex living arrangements with multiple groups inhabiting both local neighborhoods and wider community spheres.