Study of residential segregation in Santiago, Chile: A critical review of some methodological and conceptual problems

Abstract

By questioning influential works, we intend to introduce alternative perspectivesÍ in various aspects of the study of residential segregation in Chile, from methodologicalÍ perspectives to conceptual interpretations. The discussion criticizes four aspectsÍ of these works: i) their method of stratification, which defines social groups through categoriesÍ that are highly variable over time; ii) their measure of segregation, which neitherÍ consider suburban areas nor solve the scale problem; iii) their connection with socialÍ problems, which presents certain biases of spatial reification; and iv) their proposals of public policies, which point out lines of action that are founded in debatable premises. Given the considerable influence of these studies in the discussion of pro-mixture public policies, we consider important to establish links with the specificity of our social, historic and cultural contexts, elaborating a critical rationality that extends beyond an excessive empiricism.

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