Neighbourhood-scale residential segregation in Indian metros

Abstract

Residential segregation studies in Indian cities have relied on ward-level data. For a typical ward, the neighbourhood–ward dissimilarity index is greater than the ward–city dissimilarity index. Using 2011 enumeration block-level census data for five major cities in India—Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai—it is shown how patterns of caste-based urban residential segregation operate in contemporary India. The first visual snapshot of caste-based residential segregation in an Indian city is presented using geo-referenced enumeration block-level data for Bengaluru.