STRUCTURAL SOURCES OF SOCIOECONOMIC SEGREGATION IN BRAZILIAN METROPOLITAN-AREAS

This article evaluates the impact of industrialization and urbanization on residential segregation by income among Brazilian metropolitan areas. Using data from the 1980 census of Brazil, the author finds that more-industrialized areas have lower segregation because they have lower income inequality. However, urbanization, particularly population size, explains most of the variation in segregation among metropolitan areas. The conclusion is that the extent of urbanization, which is independent of industrialization, is key to understanding socioeconomic spatial inequalities in the large and rapidly growing cities of less-developed countries, but that conclusions regarding the effects of industrialization through industrial location or investment in real estate have been overgeneralized.