1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«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.» (p. 29)

Questions/Hypothèses :
«Were 19th-century industrial cities characterized by segregation or diversity? Were people separated to a greater extent by their ethnic identity or their social status?» (p. 29)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
The authors used primary sources. «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.» (p. 29)

Instruments :
Sondage

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

According to the authors, «[t]he 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 high-precision 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.» (p. 29)
Note : Cette étude s’intéresse au lien entre les familles et l’urbanisation de la ville de Montréal.