Mobility and transit segregation in urban spaces

Abstract

Segregation is a highly nuanced concept that researchers have worked to define and measure over the past several decades. Conventional approaches tend to estimate segregation based on residential patterns. However, the residential dimension does not fully comprise individuals’ interactions with their environment and, consequently, can misrepresent individuals’ lived experiences. To address this gap, we analyse how segregation extends to other dimensions of the urban life. We accomplish this by using the Index of Concentration at the Extremes (ICE) to measure socioeconomic segregation at amenities and on public transit lines. Moreover, we consider the pivotal role that transport plays in democratising access to opportunities. Using transport networks, amenity visitations, and census data, we leverage agent-based models to approximate socioeconomic composition at amenities and on transit lines. Consequently, we can estimate socioeconomic segregation within the United States, for various aspects of urban life. We find that neighbourhoods that are segregated in the residential domain tend to exhibit similar levels of segregation in amenity visitation patterns and transit usage, albeit to a lesser extent. Moreover, we discover that low-income neighbourhoods experience a greater decrease from residential to amenity segregation, than their high-income segregated counterparts, highlighting how mobility can be used as a tool for overcoming residential inequalities, given the proper infrastructure. We identify inequalities embedded into transit service, which impose constraints on residents from segregated areas, limiting the neighbourhoods that they can access within an hour to areas that are similarly disadvantaged. By exploring socioeconomic segregation from a transit perspective, we underscore the importance of conceptualising experiential segregation, while also highlighting how transport systems can contribute to a cycle of disadvantage.