What’s up with Barcelona? Residential Segregation, Increasing Population Diversity and Living Conditions Inequalities

Juan Galeano, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Andreu Domingo, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Albert Sabater, University of St Andrews

After an intense migratory boom, foreign-born population of Barcelona's Metropolitan Region (BMR) increased up to 17 per cent of the total, experiencing also a dramatically change in its composition. Along with increasing population diversity, residential inequalities have gained prominence in both academic and political field. We examine the relation between residential segregation, population diversity and living conditions of households at two geographical levels: BMR and Barcelona’s municipality. We combine segregation measures (Dissimilarity & Isolation indexes), diversity measures (Richness and Simpson) and a set of indicators of residential inequality. We use Municipal Register data from 2000-2011 and the Survey of Living Conditions for the year 2011. While changes in population composition have been overwhelming, moderate residential segregation values are likely to be found for the major part of immigrant populations (with particular exceptions). We also expect to find different types of inequalities in the living conditions of households according to the country of origin of immigrant populations.