Urban Economics and Planning

Urban Economics and Planning

Explaining the relationships governing spatial-residential segregation in peri-urban areas: A content analysis

Document Type : Review

Authors
1 دانشکده شهرسازی دپارتمان شهرسازی
2 Urban and Regional Planning Department, Faculty of Arts and Architecture,Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran,Iran
Abstract
This study employs a qualitative content analysis method with a mixed (inductive-deductive) approach, using NVivo software, to systematically analyze 160 valid sources to precisely examine the phenomenon of socio-spatial segregation as one of the most important and complex contemporary developments in the suburban areas of metropolitan cities. The findings of this research indicate that the complex, multi-layered relations governing this phenomenon fall into two overarching and interconnected structures: "intrinsic" and "spatial."

The intrinsic structure consists of three main and fundamental dimensions: the functional-social dimension (centering on issues of racial discrimination and widespread social deprivation), the value-economic dimension (with a specific focus on deep and growing class disparities), and the behavioral-institutional dimension (with important components such as institutional fragmentation and dispersal). These three dimensions are objectively and tangibly manifested in the spatial structure of these areas, which itself comprises three key components: an enclosed and fragmented physical form and structure, a dispersed and heterogeneous ecological landscape, and fundamental changes in land use and productivity.

Ultimately, these six components, together and in interaction with one another, form a comprehensive, systematic, and effective theoretical framework that scientifically and accurately explains and analyzes the complex, dynamic, and systematic relationships governing the phenomenon of segregation in the suburban areas of metropolitan cities.
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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 03 December 2025

  • Receive Date 26 September 2025
  • Revise Date 25 November 2025
  • Accept Date 03 December 2025