Mapping Social Distance: Ethnic Residential Segregation in a Multiethnic Metro

Michael J. White, Brown University
Jennifer E. Glick, Arizona State University
Ann Kim, Brown University

The increasing diversity of immigrant-receiving countries calls for measures that extend beyond the conventional two-group approach. Our objective in this study is to represent simultaneously the relative social distance occupied by a wide array of ethnic groups. We use census tract tabulations for the Toronto CMA in 1996 and a multidimensional scaling map constructed from the 1,225 pairwise entropy statistics of the largest 50 ethnic groups. We find that African/Caribbean groups and Blacks were highly clustered and shared common patterns of segregation with other groups. There is also evidence of clustering along other regional lines. This study highlights the value of looking beyond broad racial or pan-ethnic classifications in understanding ethnic congregation and residential segregation patterns. Our results point to the value of new methods to provide a more conceptually meaningful way to understand social distance between groups.