Defining urban segregation: A qualitative meta-synthesis

Despite more than a century of research on urban segregation, this phenomenon is still one of the main concerns of urban planners and policymakers and a characteristic of cities that require intervention. Any policy-making in this field as an urban reality requires a clear understanding and definition of this phenomenon. But which definition? In response to this question and obtaining a basis for the definition of segregation, many efforts have been made in the past decades. However, these efforts have failed to present a framework that theoretically and practically responds to all dimensions and approaches in defining segregation. To fill this gap, the present study provides a comprehensive and integrated definition of urban segregation based on a meta-synthesis and qualitative content analysis by reviewing, categorizing, and combining the various and complex definitions in the existing literature. It presents two main categories of definitions of urban segregation: definitions based on the structural dimension and definitions based on the spatial dimension. Considering the complexity and multiple dimensions of urban segregation, a comprehensive definition of this phenomenon to present all aspects of segregation must answer six main questions: What is the nature of segregation? What people, on what basis, why, in what places and times, and how are segregated? The answers to the questions show that the presented categorization of the definitions of urban segregation covers different dimensions and aspects of this phenomenon. Therefore, combining them contributes to a comprehensive definition of it. Being more comprehensive than the previous definitions, the presented definition in this study specifies the main dimensions of urban segregation. It can provide an efficient basis for future theories, policies, and planning in urban segregation. Although the presented categories are inseparable parts of a whole, they can be examined in detail separately in future studies. Also, by connecting the definitions in the literature to intellectual paradigms and planning theories, a deeper understanding of the shaping factors and components of urban segregation can be achieved.