Dataset Information

The co-evolution of residential segregation and the built environment at the turn of the 20th century: a Schelling model.

ABSTRACT: To what degree does the built environment of cities shape the social environment? In this paper we use a Schelling-like agent based model to consider how changes to the built environment of cities relate to changes in residential segregation by income and ethnicity. To develop this model we exploit insights from a high resolution historical GIS which maps 100% of the population of Newark, NJ in 1880. Newark in 1880 had a complex social landscape characterized by areas of significant social and economic segregation and areas of relative integration. We develop a Schelling model capable of reproducing these residential patterns. We use this model to explore the decentralization of housing, a specific phenomenon associated with the demise of the walking city in the late 19th century. Holding agent preferences constant, but allowing the landscape of the Schelling model to evolve in ways that reflect historical changes to the built environment produces changes to the social landscape that are also consistent with history. Our work suggests that changes in residential segregation do not necessarily imply changes to individual attitudes and preferences. Changes in residential segregation can be generated by changes to the built environment, specifically the geographic distribution of housing.

SUBMITTER: Spielman SE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4238892 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The co-evolution of residential segregation and the built environment at the turn of the 20<sup>th</sup> century: a Schelling model.

Spielman Seth E SE Harrison Patrick P

Transactions in GIS : TG 20140201 1

To what degree does the built environment of cities shape the social environment? In this paper we use a Schelling-like agent based model to consider how changes to the built environment of cities relate to changes in residential segregation by income and ethnicity. To develop this model we exploit insights from a high resolution historical GIS which maps 100% of the population of Newark, NJ in 1880. Newark in 1880 had a complex social landscape characterized by areas of significant social and e ...[more]

PMID: 25419167

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Project description:BACKGROUND: Half the world's population lives in urban areas. It is therefore important to identify characteristics of the built environment that are beneficial to human health. Urban greenness has been associated with improvements in a diverse range of health conditions, including birth outcomes; however, few studies have attempted to distinguish potential effects of greenness from those of other spatially correlated exposures related to the built environment. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate associations between residential greenness and birth outcomes and evaluate the influence of spatially correlated built environment factors on these associations. METHODS: We examined associations between residential greenness [measured using satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) within 100 m of study participants' homes] and birth outcomes in a cohort of 64,705 singleton births (from 1999-2002) in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. We also evaluated associations after adjusting for spatially correlated built environmental factors that may influence birth outcomes, including exposure to air pollution and noise, neighborhood walkability, and distance to the nearest park. RESULTS: An interquartile increase in greenness (0.1 in residential NDVI) was associated with higher term birth weight (20.6 g; 95% CI: 16.5, 24.7) and decreases in the likelihood of small for gestational age, very preterm (< 30 weeks), and moderately preterm (30-36 weeks) birth. Associations were robust to adjustment for air pollution and noise exposures, neighborhood walkability, and park proximity. CONCLUSIONS: Increased residential greenness was associated with beneficial birth outcomes in this population-based cohort. These associations did not change after adjusting for other spatially correlated built environment factors, suggesting that alternative pathways (e.g., psychosocial and psychological mechanisms) may underlie associations between residential greenness and birth outcomes.

Project description:Seagrass meadows store globally significant organic carbon (Corg ) stocks which, if disturbed, can lead to CO2 emissions, contributing to climate change. Eutrophication and thermal stress continue to be a major cause of seagrass decline worldwide, but the associated CO2 emissions remain poorly understood. This study presents comprehensive estimates of seagrass soil Corg erosion following eutrophication-driven seagrass loss in Cockburn Sound (23 km2 between 1960s and 1990s) and identifies the main drivers. We estimate that shallow seagrass meadows (<5 m depth) had significantly higher Corg stocks in 50 cm thick soils (4.5 ± 0.7 kg Corg /m2 ) than previously vegetated counterparts (0.5 ± 0.1 kg Corg /m2 ). In deeper areas (>5 m), however, soil Corg stocks in seagrass and bare but previously vegetated areas were not significantly different (2.6 ± 0.3 and 3.0 ± 0.6 kg Corg /m2 , respectively). The soil Corg sequestration capacity prevailed in shallow and deep vegetated areas (55 ± 11 and 21 ± 7 g Corg m-2 year-1 , respectively), but was lost in bare areas. We identified that seagrass canopy loss alone does not necessarily drive changes in soil Corg but, when combined with high hydrodynamic energy, significant erosion occurred. Our estimates point at ~0.20 m/s as the critical shear velocity threshold causing soil Corg erosion. We estimate, from field studies and satellite imagery, that soil Corg erosion (within the top 50 cm) following seagrass loss likely resulted in cumulative emissions of 0.06-0.14 Tg CO2-eq over the last 40 years in Cockburn Sound. We estimated that indirect impacts (i.e. eutrophication, thermal stress and light stress) causing the loss of ~161,150 ha of seagrasses in Australia, likely resulted in the release of 11-21 Tg CO2 -eq since the 1950s, increasing cumulative CO2 emissions from land-use change in Australia by 1.1%-2.3% per annum. The patterns described serve as a baseline to estimate potential CO2 emissions following disturbance of seagrass meadows.

Dataset Information

The co-evolution of residential segregation and the built environment at the turn of the 20th century: a Schelling model.

Publications

The co-evolution of residential segregation and the built environment at the turn of the 20<sup>th</sup> century: a Schelling model.

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