Local, Multiscale Measures of Segregation: Neighborhood Change in Seattle 1990 to 2010

Christopher S. Fowler, Pennsylvania State University

The multiscale measure of segregation developed by Reardon and colleagues (Lee et al. 2008; Reardon et al. 2008, 2009) has substantially improved our understanding of the complexity of segregation but has yet to be explored in terms of local variation across space and time. This paper builds on previous work by describing the functional forms that the multiscale segregation measure takes within a region and mapping the variability in this functional form within the City of Seattle and across the years 1990, 2000, and 2010. In describing the variability in the functional forms for this measure we will gain a sense of the typology of segregation experiences within a region. By exploring the propensity for stability or change among these functional forms we will better understand the relationship between segregation and neighborhood change.