Socio-spatial segregation in medium-sized cities

Abstract

This article aims to discuss the issue of socio-spatial segregation in medium-sized Brazilian cities, having as an empirical object the four main medium-sized cities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul: Caxias do Sul, Passo Fundo, Pelotas and Santa Maria. It is based on the theoretical assumption that social inequalities are linked to processes of a spatial nature, with segregation, understood as the physical separation of a relatively homogeneous social group in relation to the others, the most important of them. From a methodological point of view, the article presents a proposal for the analysis of socio-spatial structures and the respective segregation patterns of medium-sized cities based on two dimensions: a) identification of social groups, through the combination of socioeconomic and spatial variables, through the application of cluster analysis; b) morphological analysis, using the Local Climate Zones (LCZ) method, used to identify typologies on a local scale. The research results indicate similarities between the cities, with regard to a periodization of the evolution of segregation processes, however, they also point to different rhythms, since the cities of Pelotas and Santa Maria have more fragmented socio-spatial structures than the others.