Assessing urban environmental segregation (UES). The case of Santiago de Chile

Abstract Urban environmental segregation (UES) would differentiate between the environment of poor people and the environment of rich people. We apply selected indicators for the urban environment, especially indicators of urban patterns and of urban environmental quality. These indicators will illuminate the social distribution of environmental quality and the socio-spatial exposure toward urban flooding. The comprehensive approach for the UES assessment is first, to analyze if land-use dynamics expands into areas with high environmental impact, second, to explore where and how social segregation is expressed in the study area, and third, to analyze different indicators for the urban environment. Therefore the key parameters for urban dynamics and UES are the built-up area, degrees of imperviousness, green spaces (indicators of urban patterns), environmental exposure and mitigations measures (indicators of environmental quality). They are linked to the indices of social segregation, i.e. isolation and concentration. The presented approach offers a new dimension in research of social segregation by adding the above mentioned aspects of the urban environment and so gaining a new assessment of UES. In the case of Santiago de Chile, the complex urban landscape is leading to fragmented socio-spatial configurations. The urban problems of Santiago de Chile cannot be framed in a purely social or environmental context. On a large scale it is investigated, if socio-spatial distribution is balanced and whether residents of different social groups have different spatial furnishing of green spaces, different built-up densities, and different exposure to natural hazards. We conclude that land-use dynamics in Santiago produce a higher urban complexity and fragmentation. In the in-depth study area we prove intra-municipal UES in close proximity. Furthermore, social segregation is accompanied by unequal distribution of environmental features. One spatial indicator is the uneven distribution of urban green. As a consequence, environmental differences between different social strata are extremely contrasting.