The Social Context of Spatial Choice: Activity Locations and Residential Segregation

Despite considerable focus on clustering as a dimension of segregation and the explosion of big location data, the extant literature has not explicitly examined residential racial segregation and the clustering of racially segregated space as an influence on mobility. Drawing on urban sociological theories, we test criteria contributing to individuals' selection of key activity neighborhoods. Using a range of spatial data sources, we compare White and Black individuals' choice of frequently visited neighborhoods in Chicago, stratified by whether residing in a contiguous segregated cluster (CSC). Discrete choice models show evidence for the impact of clustered residential segregation in individual decision-making. Net of distance, all groups are drawn to White CSC neighborhoods. White residents exhibit a pattern of geographic isolation, gravitating toward White CSC tracts and away from Black spaces, CSC and non-CSC alike. Black residents of Black CSC neighborhoods are more likely to have activity locations in White CSC neighborhoods than their own residential CSC, largely because of the relative institutional, amenity, and crime-related advantages of these areas. Results are robust to alternative specifications of choice sets and institutional deficits. Implications for understanding the social context of routine location choice and designing desegregation policies through behavioral "nudges" are discussed.