Neighborhood-level Residential Isolation and Neighborhood Composition: Similar but Different

Abstract

Residential segregation has been considered as a potential cause of racial and/or ethnic disparities in health. Among the five dimensions of residential segregation, the isolation dimension has been conceived to play an essential role in disproportionately shaping the health of racial and ethnic minorities, particularly in urban or metropolitan areas. However, a noticeable amount of research studies has been using informal measures of neighborhood composition (i.e., proportions or percentages), which do not capture any of the five dimensions of residential segregation. Since the inappropriateness of measurement may obstruct a meaningful interpretation and an effective dissemination of research findings, a combination of graphical and non-graphical techniques was used to demonstrate the similarities and differences between formal measures of neighborhood-level residential isolation and informal measures of neighborhood composition. These were intended to provide intuitive and mutual understandings across academic disciples (e.g., city or urban planning, geography, public health, and sociology) and practitioners or professionals in multiple fields (e.g., community development workers, health service providers, policymakers, and social workers). Conceptual and methodological explanations with analytical discussions are also provided to differentiate and/or distinguish the two types of measures. While the concepts, methodologies, and research implications discussed herein are most relevant for research studies in urban or metropolitan areas of the United States, the general framework is also applicable to those of other industrialized counties.

Keywords: Differential Patterns; Ethnicity; Location Quotient; Race; Residential Isolation; Residential Segregation; Socioeconomic Status.

Fig. 1

Relationships between three types of aspatial measures. Note: Scatterplots and Pearson’s correlation coefficients (r) are based on the 2015–2019 American Community Survey data. I_i aspatial measures of neighborhood-level residential isolation derived from the I_i index (Eq. 2), p_i aspatial measures of neighborhood composition based on proportion (Eq. 4), LQ_i aspatial measures of neighborhood composition based on Location Quotient (Eq. 6)

Fig. 2

Relationships between three types of spatial measures. Note: Scatterplots and Pearson’s correlation coefficients (r) are based on the 2015–2019 American Community Survey data. SI_i spatial measures of neighborhood-level residential isolation derived from the SI_i index (Eq. 3), cp_i spatial measures of neighborhood composition based on composite proportion (Eq. 5), SLQ_i spatial measures of neighborhood composition based on Spatial Location Quotient (Eq. 7)

Fig. 3

Relationships between spatial measures of neighborhood-level residential isolation. Note: Correlogram is based on the 2015–2019 American Community Survey data

Fig. 4

Relationships between spatial measures of neighborhood composition. Note: Correlogram is based on the 2015–2019 American Community Survey data