Explaining Spatial Distribution of the Middle Class: A Multiple Indicator Approach with Multiple Explanatory Dimensions

This study attempts to investigate the pattern of the middle class in the Seoul Metropolitan Region and to explain why such a pattern occurs from spatial perspectives. For this purpose, the middle class are first defined based on four indicators: income, education, occupation and housing. Then, the spatial concentration of the middle class are explored by each indicator for 2010. The explanation of the pattern is pursued based on four dimensions often considered as critical factors in residential location decisions of the middle class: neighborhood, employment, consumption and educational environment. The findings suggest that the spatial distribution of the middle class generally shows a combination of concentric and sector models as we go farther from Seoul. The results of the global and the local regression analyses suggest that employment (producer service jobs) and educational environment (private after-school educational institutes) are important dimensions in explaining the residential location of the middle class in the Seoul Metropolitan Region.