The Link Between Ethnic Segregation and Socio‐Economic Status: An Activity Space Approach

The extent to which ethnic segregation results from differences in socio-economic factors remains a seminal topic of debate. The growing literature demonstrating the multifaceted phenomenon of segregation urges more focus on individuals' spatial and social interactions. We applied an activity space approach and considered ethnic differences in individuals' activity spaces as an indicator of spatial segregation. We used mobile phone and survey datasets in Estonia. We show that place-based segregation indices derived from both datasets indicate similar levels of ethnic segregation. From an activity space perspective, the results show that the main socio-economic factor affecting the extensity of activity spaces is self-estimated social status rather than education and income. Results show that ethnic inequality in spatial behaviour is not straightforward, but rather that it is linked to how individuals position themselves in society. We argue that socio-economic factors need to be controlled to examine ethnic segregation from activity space perspective.