Residential sorting across Auckland neighbourhoods

This paper addresses the extent to which people in Auckland exhibit residential location patterns that differ between groups, i.e. the extent to which they are spatially sorted. To measure patterns of residential location, the paper uses the index of segregation, an isolation index, Gini coefficients, Ellison & Glaeser and Maurel & Sédillot concentration measures, Moran’s I and Getis and Ord’s G*. Results are presented based on a classification of the population in different ways: ethnicity, income, education, age and country of birth. Both city-wide and local measures are considered. We find that ethnic-based sorting is the strongest indicator of residential sorting patterns, but soring by income, education and age is also present. Sorting by income and qualifications is strongest at the top and, to lesser extent, at the bottom of the income and qualifications range. Age segregation is most pronounced for older residents. Clustering is strongest within a range of up to one kilometre and declines significantly over greater distances. Local analysis by means of Getis and Ord’s G* calculations suggest significant ethnic clustering. Apart from Maori and Pacific Islanders, ethnic groups tend to locate way from each other, as confirmed with cross-Moran’s I calculations. When considering interactions between ethnicity and income we find that the location of ethnicity income subgroups is more strongly related to neighbourhood income

Residential Assimilation of Immigrants: A Cohort Approach

This paper measures the process of residential assimilation for three cohorts of immigrants from each of five countries of birth entering Auckland, New Zealand between 1991 and 2006. It tracks, and compares, the changes in spatial segregation, isolation, and autocorrelation for these cohorts over time, using index measures adjusted for random location variation. We find evidence of residential assimilation, whereby immigrants become less spatially concentrated in the years following arrival. Overall concentration has nevertheless been increasing over time, with successive cohorts entering with higher levels of initial concentration. By examining the spatial location patterns of arrival cohorts, we show that entering cohorts are attracted to the current rather than initial locations occupied by the previous cohort of their compatriots. Despite differences across cohorts and over time, there is nevertheless a high degree of stability in the ‘residential footprint’ of different immigrant groups within Auckland