Social and Spatial Disparities in Warsaw in 1978: An Application of Correspondence Analysis to a 'Socialist' City

This paper has two main goals, one is to move towards an explanation of socio-spatial disparities in a 'socialist' city as measured by segregation values for 1978 in Warsaw. The second is to introduce a fruitful hitherto unused technique in urban research, namely correspondence analysis, to describe the relative value of discriminating variables. Socio-spatial disparities in Warsaw are indicated by a typology of planning districts, defined particularly by characteristics of the planning districts' housing stock, but also by socio-demographic characteristics. The unequal spatial distribution of dwellings categorised by construction agencies and by age of building is identified as the main cause of the socio-spatial disparities measured, since the spatial distribution of the residential population by education and age is related to these specific characteristics of the housing stock. The final discussion suggests that the degree of socio-spatial disparity is a consequence of both the actions of the planning authorities, and also unequal access to dwellings.