Residential Segregation in the Industrializing City: A Closer Look

Abstract

This article maps and measures several dimensions of residential segregation in Montreal in 1881, thereby adding to our understanding of the social structure of the industrial city. Taking advantage of an unusual historical database-a historical geographic information system (H-GIS)-we locate 17,000 individual households with precision, and evaluate the "dissimilarity" of neighborhoods along several social dimensions and at various levels of spatial aggregation. The empirical findings suggest that Montreal was highly segregated along lines of ethnic identity as well as socioeconomic status; segregation values increased inversely with size of the spatial unit, but precision of unit boundaries have negligible effect. Coupling the highprecision GIS with a statistical model such as the classic index of dissimilarity lends new power to grasp the scale of phenomena, to inquire into behavioral choices of 19th-century households, and even to challenge our assumptions about the meaning of "segregation" or "integration."

Spatial distribution of vegetation in Montreal: An uneven distribution or environmental inequity?

“…During the next 100 years, industrialization was amplified and Montreal's territory began to explode. But this was also the period when the city witnessed intense income inequality and ethnic separation, giving rise to highly segregated neighbourhoods (Gilliland & Olson, 2010). Its population tripled from 1900 to 1930, reaching 820,000 people, and continued to increase during two waves of suburbanization.…”

Mortality in late nineteenth-century Montreal: Geographic pathways of contagion

“…Consistent with the fine grain of residential segregation observed in Montreal (Gilliland and Olson 2010), we conceived neighbourhoods as very small spatial entities, and use of a high-precision citywide GIS (Geographic Information System) made it possible to explore the data at various levels of aggregation (Sweeny and Olson 2003). In the logistic models, to assign properties of the neighbourhood to the individual, we employed characteristics of the city block or the street segment (twinned block faces).…”

Historic Roots of Modern Residential Segregation in a Southwestern Metropolis: San Antonio, Texas in 1910 and 2010

“…Gilliland and Olson [31] demonstrate that American cities of this timeframe have not been as well-studied as their English counterparts. Their study of segregation in 1880 Montreal shows that there were high levels of segregation by both ethnicity and occupation.…”