Exploring a decade of small area ethnic (de-)segregation in England and Wales

Claims of the self-segregation of minority ethnic groups during the early 2000s were much critiqued in the British academic literature, which pointed instead to decreasing ethnic segregation via the rather benign demographic processes of births and deaths, and internal migration from urban clusters. Despite the attention that these opposing debates received, a detailed study of change in ethnic residential segregation during the period has yet to be undertaken for the whole of England and Wales, and the recent release of 2011 Census data has now made this possible. This paper contributes to the literature by providing a systematic overview of national-level change in residential segregation in a changing socio-political climate, considering how minority ethnic distributions have altered in the last decade. The paper explores the specific case of England and Wales, but in doing so makes a contribution to our understanding of the contemporary evolution of ethnic geographies and the dynamics of diverse places, beyond this specific region. Using a commonly employed measure of spatial unevenness, the Index of Dissimilarity, at the smallest possible geographical level, the findings demonstrate how there has been increased residential mixing between each ethnic group (the White British majority and all minority groups), and that urban locales have experienced a decrease in segregation between 2001 and 2011. The findings disturb the association of ethnic diversity with ethnic divisions in (particularly urban) space and provide support for the somewhat ‘every day’ processes of de-segregation, rather than a cause for concern over increasingly entrenched neighbourhoods. </jats:p

Unpacking summary measures of ethnic residential segregation using an age group and age cohort perspective

Funding: UK Economic and Social Research Council (ES/K007394/1)The residential segregation literature has underplayed the significance of age in shaping the ethnic compositions of neighbourhoods. This paper develops an age group and age cohort perspective as a way to unpack summary measures of residential segregation. Harmonised small area data for England and Wales (2001–2011) are used as a case study to explore the potential of this methodology for understanding better the role of age in the evolution of ethnic residential geographies. Our findings demonstrate the age-specificity of residential segregation, for both cross-sectional patterns and change over time. Levels of segregation vary among age groups and age cohorts and between ethnic groups, with a changing pattern of segregation as people age. Exploring change over a 10-year period, we observe that residential segregation decreases during young adulthood for all age cohorts, then increases during the late 20s and early 30s, and continues to increase until retirement. These trends are, for the most, consistent between ethnic groups. Our findings emphasise how residential segregation is a dynamic process with a significant life cycle component, with commonalities in residential decision-making between ethnic groups through the life course.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

The complex geographies of ethnic residential segregation: Using spatial and local measures to explore scale-dependency and spatial relationships

Ethnic residential geographies have become increasingly spatially complex. While urban diversity is by far the dominant pattern in the UK , over the last two decades suburban and rural areas have experienced a modest but steady growth of ethnic minority populations. Yet despite these emerging patterns, a bias persists whereby most studies of ethnic residential segregation are concerned solely with metropolitan places. While spatial and local measures enable a more sophisticated analysis of the intricate geographical and scalar variations in residential segregation than traditional “global” approaches, there have been surprisingly few analyses of the local dimensions of ethnic residential patterning, and these have tended to be metro‐focused. This study analyses small area ethnic segregation in England and Wales using a spatially‐weighted approach for 2011 Census data across all (small) areas, rather than just cities. To briefly summarise, the results demonstrate (1) the non‐uniform scale effects of segregation between each ethnic group; (2) spatial “thresholds” at which segregation can be found, which challenge established wisdom about the relative levels of segregation between ethnic groups; (3) the high spatial variability in segregation levels; and (4) how segregation dimensions and group proportions are not strongly related in all neighbourhoods, providing justification for their use in conjunction. Exploring segregation across a national context, the research develops understandings of ethnic group interactions between spaces and across scales, and advances hitherto underdeveloped debates about the complexity of the conceptual and empirical distinctions that can be made between the dimensions of segregation

Ethnic diversification and neighbourhood mixing : a rapid response analysis of the 2021 Census of England and Wales

Funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is acknowledged gratefully, for the project ‘Geographies of Ethnic Diversity and Inequalities (GEDI)’ (award ES/W012499/1).This paper provides a rapid response analysis of the changing geographies of ethnic diversity and segregation in England and Wales using Census data covering the last 30 years (1991, 2001, 2011 and 2021), a period of significant social, economic and political change. Presenting the first detailed analysis of 2021 Census small area ethnic group data, we find that the growth of ethnic diversity at the national level is mirrored across residential neighbourhoods. Increasing numbers of neighbourhoods are home to a substantial mix of people from different ethnic groups, and this growing neighbourhood ethnic diversity has been spatially diffusing across all regions of England and Wales. We argue that to understand the ethnic mosaic across England and Wales, it is more illuminating to consider mix than majority: places labelled as 'minority-majority' are, in fact, ethnically diverse spaces, home to sizable proportions of people from many ethnic groups. Increasing ethnic diversity is matched by decreasing residential segregation, for all ethnic groups-majority and minority.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

An ethnic group specific deprivation index for measuring neighbourhood inequalities in England and Wales

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is thanked for funding for the project Geographies of Ethnic Diversity and Inequalities (GEDI) (award ES/W012499/1).The measurement of deprivation for small areas in the UK has provided the basis for the development of policies and targeting of resources aimed at reducing spatial inequalities. Most measures summarise the aggregate level of deprivation across all people in a given area, and no account is taken of differences between people with differing characteristics, such as age, sex or ethnic group. In recognition of the marked inequalities between ethnic groups in the UK, and the distinctive geographies of these inequalities, this paper presents a new ethnic group-specific neighbourhood deprivation measure—the Ethnic Group Deprivation Index (EGDI). This index, using a custom cross-tabulated 2021 Census dataset on employment, housing tenure, education and health by ethnic group, reveals the small area geographies of ethnic inequalities that have to date received scant attention, and yet have profound impacts on life chances and well-being. Drawing on the methodological framework of the widely used English Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) and for the same geographies (Lower Layer Super Output Areas), the EGDI measures deprivation for each ethnic group using data from the 2021 Census of England and Wales. The EGDI reveals the complex geographies of ethnic inequality and demonstrates that while one ethnic group in a neighbourhood may have high relative levels of deprivation, another ethnic group in that same neighbourhood may experience very low relative levels. The EGDI explores ethnic inequalities within and between neighbourhoods, complementing and augmenting existing measures by offering an important means of better understanding ethnic inequalities. The EGDI can be used to help shape locally and culturally sensitive policy development and resource allocation.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe