Analyzing Social Stratification through Spatial Characteristics: Case Study of Bhubaneswar, India

Objective: The overall goal of this investigation is to describe the pattern of distribution of various socio-economic groups in Bhubaneswar, India. Background: Social stratification studies are inconsistent across countries. While the deprived communities are clustered around the center of the city in the US and Shanghai, recent Indian studies showed that they are mostly located at the periphery of the city. Most of these studies have used census data to differentiate the socio-economic groups. However, there are limited studies that examine the spatial structure of various socio-economic neighborhoods in India. This study is unique because it combines census data and satellite images to examine how different socio-economic neighborhoods are different geographically and spatially. Method: Census tract or ward is considered representative of neighborhoods. Census data on socio-economic indicators such as household size, literacy, home ownership, car-jeep ownership, availing banking facility, and workers population are used for an empirical PCA analysis. The wards are divided into five quintiles based on their deprivation index. A spatial study is performed for two of the most deprived neighborhoods and two of the least deprived neighborhoods using satellite maps. Results: The least deprived neighborhoods are located mostly around airports. However, the most deprived neighborhoods are located at the periphery. Informal housing or slums are not clumped in deprived neighborhoods only but are distributed throughout the city. All four wards studied are heterogeneous with informal housing combined with independent housing and apartments. Conclusion: Most deprived and least deprived neighborhoods are not differentiated based on informal housing locations but on parcel and apartment size.