Measuring spatial segregation: a proposal of segregation index complementary measures.

The measurement of spatial segregation phenomena has been mainly studied in the United States since the 1950’s. A multitude of segregation indexes have been elaborated to analyze all the aspects of this topic. In 1988, Massey and Denton synthetized the scientific knowledge by a 5-dimensional classification: evenness, exposure, concentration, centralization and clustering. This presentation displays us to demonstrate that these dimensions can be approached by a single index: the Duncan’s segregation index (1955). By using a method of spatial decomposition of the index, the proposed methodology allows to free itself from the aspatial character of the index and to create a map representation which visually reproduces the spatial structure of the phenomenon. Applied to the French urban areas this methodology allows demonstrating that the spatial structure of segregation is organized according to a sectorial model (Hoyt) for socioeconomic criteria, and follows a concentric model (Burgess) for sociodemographic criteria.