Stephen A. Matthews

Beyond the Census Tract: Patterns and Determinants of Racial Segregation at Multiple Geographic Scales:

The census tract—based residential segregation literature rests on problematic assumptions about geographic scale and proximity. We pursue a new tract-free approach that combines explicitly spatial concepts and methods to examine racial segregation across egocentric local environments of varying size. Using 2000 Census data for the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, we compute a spatially modified version of the information theory index H to describe patterns of Black—White, Hispanic-White, Asian-White, and multigroup segregation at different scales. We identify the metropolitan structural characteristics that best distinguish micro-segregation from macro-segregation for each group combination, and we decompose their effects into portions due to racial variation occurring over short and long distances. A comparison of our results with those from tract-based analyses confirms the value of the new approach.

The Geographic Scale of Metropolitan Racial Segregation

This article addresses an aspect of racial residential segregation that has been largely ignored in prior work: the issue of geographic scale. In some metropolitan areas, racial groups are segregated over large regions, with predominately white regions, predominately black regions, and so on, whereas in other areas, the separation of racial groups occurs over much shorter distances. Here we develop an approach—featuring the segregation profile and the corresponding macro/micro segregation ratio—that offers a scale-sensitive alternative to standard methodological practice for describing segregation. Using this approach, we measure and describe the geographic scale of racial segregation in the 40 largest U.S. metropolitan areas in 2000. We find considerable heterogeneity in the geographic scale of segregation patterns across both metropolitan areas and racial groups, a heterogeneity that is not evident using conventional “aspatial” segregation measures. Moreover, because the geographic scale of segregation is only modestly correlated with the level of segregation in our sample, we argue that geographic scale represents a distinct dimension of residential segregation. We conclude with a brief discussion of the implications of our findings for investigating the patterns, causes, and consequences of residential segregation at different geographic scales.

Geo-ethnography: Coupling Geographic Information Analysis Techniques with Ethnographic Methods in Urban Research

Abstract This research article focuses on the coupling of geographic information system (GIS) technologies with ethnographic data, an approach we refer to as geo-ethnography. The data used here were gathered in an ongoing, multi-site study of low-income families and their children. Throughout our work, the goals have been to think creatively about how GIS can be used in welfare research, to stretch the technology, and to revise the methodologies we currently use. We specifically discuss the ways in which the ethnographic data on families and neighbourhoods have been integrated within a GIS and how these two methods, alone and in combination, help situate families’ actions and experiences in time and space and enhance data analysis and interpretation. More specifically, we focus on conceptual and methodological issues we have faced in the process of this integration and on practical strategies for combining qualitative and quantitative research.

Spatial Polygamy and the Heterogeneity of Place: Studying People and Place via Egocentric Methods

Since the early twentieth century, several academic disciplines have invested considerable energies in the study of people and their use of, and their connection to, place. One of the weakest areas of current practice in social science and health research is the conceptualization of place. For the most part, studies of the relationship between people and place, and specifically health and well-being outcomes, are based on several conventional, naive, and tenuous assumptions regarding place and human spatial behavior. In this chapter, I introduce the concept of spatial polygamy – briefly that we belong to multiple nested and nonnested places – and use this to critique the measure of place based on residential units such as the census tracts. It is important to note that the critique of the naive assumption of bounded, static, and isolated units such as census tracts in studies of place is not new. To illustrate this, I will review some literature from sociology and geography and some from almost a century ago. The empirical sections of the paper introduce two different types of research that seek to explore and better understand relationships between people and place. Using data gathered in ethnographic studies, I will show the complexity of lived lives and how the use of multiple place(s) varies in juggling different individual and family responsibilities among low-income and minority families. An approach based on secondary data from the US Census demonstrates a different way in which research on places can be more explicit about issues of scale and the spatial relationships between places. These two very different examples will be followed by a brief discussion of the research potential afforded by developments in new tracking technologies, innovative data collection methods, and methodological tools. The time is ripe for updating our conceptual models of place and to take advantage of emerging technologies, methods, and data. A renewed focus on theoretical and conceptual development will help to push research on place and health forward.

Spatial Polygamy and Contextual Exposures (SPACEs): Promoting Activity Space Approaches in Research on Place And Health

Exposure science has developed rapidly and there is an increasing call for greater precision in the measurement of individual exposures across space and time. Social science interest in an individual’s environmental exposure, broadly conceived, has arguably been quite limited conceptually and methodologically. Indeed, in social science, we appear to lag behind our exposure science colleagues in our theories, data, and methods. In this article, we discuss a framework based on the concept of spatial polygamy to demonstrate the need to collect new forms of data on human spatial behavior and contextual exposures across time and space. Adopting new data and methods will be essential if one wants to better understand social inequality in terms of exposure to health risks and access to health resources. We discuss the opportunities and challenges focusing on the potential seemingly offered by focusing on human mobility and, specifically, the utilization of activity space concepts and data. A goal of the article is to spatialize social and health science concepts and research practice vis-à-vis the complexity of exposure. The article concludes with some recommendations for future research, focusing on theoretical and conceptual development promoting research on new types of places and human movement, the dynamic nature of contexts, and training.

Work Group II: Using Geographic Information Systems for Enhancing Research Relevant to Policy on Diet, Physical Activity, and Weight

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was a theme for one of the four workgroups convened for the Measures of the Food and Built Environment meeting held in Bethesda, Maryland in November 2007. This summary of group discussions frames several critical conceptual, methodologic, and data challenges regarding the use of GIS to enhance research relevant to policy on diet, physical activity, and weight. Broad recommendations are offered in five areas: (1) theoretical and conceptual development in framing place effects on health; (2) contextualizing people and spatial behavior in built environments and improving empirical representations of place; (3) geospatial data availability, quality, and standards; (4) privacy and confidentiality; and, (5) building capacity in GIS personnel and infrastructure. These topics are inter-related. Although our discussion focuses on issues relevant to the role of the built environment in diet and physical activity outcomes, our recommendations also are salient to health and environment research generally.

Exploring the Role of the Built and Social Neighborhood Environment in Moderating Stress and Health

BackgroundHealth researchers have explored how different aspects of neighborhood characteristics contribute to health and well-being, but current understanding of built environment factors is limited.PurposeThis study explores whether the association between stress and health varies by residential neighborhood, and if yes, whether built and social neighborhood environment characteristics act as moderators.MethodsThis study uses multilevel modeling and variables derived from geospatial data to explore the role of neighborhood environment in moderating the association of stress with health. Individual-level data (N = 4,093) were drawn from residents of 45 neighborhoods within Philadelphia County, PA, collected as part of the 2006 Philadelphia Health Management Corporations Household Health Survey.ResultsWe find that the negative influence of high stress varied by neighborhood, that residential stability and affluence (social characteristics) attenuated the association of high stress with health, and that the presence of hazardous waste facilities (built environment characteristics) moderated health by enhancing the association with stress.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that neighborhood environment has both direct and moderating associations with health, after adjusting for individual characteristics. The use of geospatial data could broaden the scope of stress–health research and advance knowledge by untangling the intertwined relationship between built and social environments, stress, and health. In particular, future studies should integrate built environment characteristics in health-related research; these characteristics are modifiable and can facilitate health promotion policies.

Does transportation mode modify associations between distance to food store, fruit and vegetable consumption, and BMI in low-income neighborhoods?

BACKGROUND A consistent body of research has shown that the neighborhood food environment is associated with fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption and obesity in deprived neighborhoods in the United States. However, these studies have often neglected to consider how transportation can moderate associations between food accessibility and diet-related outcomes. OBJECTIVE This study examined associations between distance to primary food store, fruit and vegetable consumption, and BMI and whether mode of transportation to the primary food store moderates this relation. DESIGN Cross-sectional data from the baseline wave of the Philadelphia Neighborhood Food Environment Study were used. A telephone survey of adult (≥18 y of age) household primary food shoppers residing in 2 Philadelphia neighborhoods was conducted (n = 1440). RESULTS In a bivariate linear regression analysis, distance to primary food store did not predict F&V consumption (β = 0.04; 95% CI: -0.00, 0.09). Linear regression analysis stratified by transportation mode to the main F&V store showed no difference in F&V consumption between car, public, and multimodal transportation users. Compared with respondents using multimodal transportation, those using public transit had a significantly lower BMI (β = -1.31; 95% CI: -2.50, -0.10), whereas those using an automobile did not (β = -0.41; 95% CI: -1.36, 0.54). CONCLUSIONS The assumption that using an automobile to access food stores results in increased F&V consumption was not confirmed. Significant associations were found for the relation between transportation mode and BMI. Theory-based mechanisms explaining relationships between the primary transportation mode used to access food stores and BMI should be further explored.

Effect of Health Care System Distrust on Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

OBJECTIVES We investigated whether health care system distrust is a barrier to breast and cervical cancer screening and whether different dimensions of distrust-values and competence-have different impacts on cancer screening. METHODS We utilized data on 5268 women aged 18 years and older living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and analyzed their use of screening services via logistic and multinomial logistic regression. RESULTS High levels of health care system distrust were associated with lower utilization of breast and cervical cancer screening services. The associations differed by dimensions of distrust. Specifically, a high level of competence distrust was associated with a reduced likelihood of having Papanicolaou tests, and women with high levels of values distrust were less likely to have breast examinations within the recommended time period. Independent of other covariates, individual health care resources and health status were associated with utilization of cancer screening. CONCLUSIONS Health care system distrust is a barrier to breast and cervical cancer screening even after control for demographic and socioeconomic determinants. Rebuilding confidence in the health care system may improve personal and public health by increasing the utilization of preventive health services.

The role of social and built environments in predicting self-rated stress: A multilevel analysis in Philadelphia

Most studies of the predictors of stress focus on individual characteristics. Linking multiple contextual data sources to an individual-level health survey, we explore the associations of both built and social environment determinants with self-rated stress. At the individual level few social factors were significant predictors, although neighborhood trust and food insecurity have independent effects on stress. At the neighborhood level, the presence of hazardous waste sites and traffic volume were determinants of self-rated stress even after controlling for other individual characteristics. The latter two factors are of relevance to public health policy as they are potentially modifiable.