Cities and Socio-Economic Segregation over the Long Run, 1880–2017

This research project has the aim of analyzing changes to urban socio-economic segregation over the 1880–2017 period and how these are linked to shifts in transportation technology and urban planning using data for the six Swedish cities of Stockholm, Sundsvall, Växjö, Norrköping, Östersund and Uppsala.

The selection of cities produces variation along dimensions of size, economic and social structure, types of infrastructure, position in the spatial hierarchy, as well as relative economic development.

The project will use a combination of historical maps and digitized census data which is combined with contemporary geocoded population registers.

This will result in geocoded data on individuals at a 100x100 meter grid spatial resolution which is used to bring a unique perspective on four areas of research: socio-economic segregation, public transporation, urban planning, and residential choice.

The project will leverage cluster analysis, K-nearest neighbor and spatial syntax methodology.The project runs over a four-year period with the first year devoted to the creation of the dataset the second and third year dedicated to analysis. Four peer-reviewed journal articles will be written and published during the third and fourth years.

This project will be the first in the world to follow the same urban areas with geocoded microdata over a period of 140-years, a stretch of time which contains significant changes in transportation technologies and urban planning.