Formation and evolution of ethnic enclaves in Catalonia before and during the economic crisis (DOI: 10.2436/20.3000.02.26)

The spatial settlement of the immigrant population has become a reality, and the economic crisis has further deepened our interest in the concetration levels of immigrants. In this sense, the establishment of ethnic enclaves, defined as residential areas with a significant representation of one or more foreign populations, has become a subject of particular attention in the academic and political sphere. However, there are currently few studies that have quantitatively examined the establishment and evolution of these enclaves. Through the implementation of a residential classification method that allows us to take the census tract as the unit of analysis, we aim to inventory the different types of residential spaces and explain the basic demographics of their residents, in particular for the inhabitants of the 48 census tracts that could be considered ethnic enclaves in 2011. In them, we evaluate the trend in degrees of residential exclusivity for all settlement areas before and during the economic crisis.Key words: immigrant population, Catalonia, settlement, ethnic enclaves, economic crisisOriginal source: Documents d'Anàlisi Geogràfica, 60(2): 261-288 (2014