Journal of Geographical Studies of Mountainous Areas

Journal of Geographical Studies of Mountainous Areas

Analysis of the socio-spatial segregation of ethnic groups in Ashkhaneh

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Seyyed Mahdi Masoudi 1
Mohammad Reza Zamiri 2
1 Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran.
2 Department of Art and Architecture, Faculty of Arts, University of Bojnord, Bojnord, Iran.
10.22034/gsma.2025.2046856.1043
Abstract
1. Introduction
Socio-spatial segregation at the level of urban neighborhoods is recognized as one of the important manifestations of spatial inequality in cities, and by providing efficient tools, it is possible to accurately assess and analyze the status and severity of these inequalities.
Ashkhaneh is the center of Samalqan County in North Khorasan and its population is estimated to be close to 30,000 in 2024. Four ethnic groups, Persian, Kurdish, Turkish, and Turkmen, live in the city. In recent years, with the arrival of a rural immigrant population to the city and the departure of a number of Ashkhaneh residents who migrated to larger cities, especially Bojnord, the ethnic composition of the Ashkhaneh population has changed.
The main goal of this research is to assess the socio-spatial segregation of ethnic groups in the neighborhoods of Ashkhaneh city and analyze how they have changed and evolved in recent years. For this purpose, the main question of this research is formulated as follows: What is the status of the socio-spatial dimensions of residential segregation of ethnicities living in the neighborhoods of Ashkhaneh city and how is it changing?


2. Methodology
The research method is descriptive-analytical and, in terms of epistemology, quantitative. Considering that the process of changing the residential segregation situation in the past years and with an emphasis on the period of the past decade, the population statistics and its composition were obtained in previous census periods. In the master plan, the city was divided into six neighborhoods, which formed the spatial units of this research as statistical blocks.
Given the complexity and multidimensionality of the concept of residential segregation and with an emphasis on its socio-spatial dimensions, different indices are used. The indices measured using GSA software include: two-group dissimilarity index, segregation index, and the indices measured and analyzed using GIS software include: entropy index (Shannon) and Moran's local I index.

3. Results
The results of calculating the dissimilarity index for each ethnic group living in Ashkhaneh are presented in the form of maps, based on which the trend of change in the aforementioned index can be measured. The status of the index calculated for the Turkmen ethnic group shows a clear difference from the status of this index for other ethnic groups.
Unlike other ethnic groups, the spatial distribution of the Turkmen ethnic group was not homogeneous in 2006. This imbalance became more severe in 2016, and in 2023, the dissimilarity index for the Turkmen ethnic group indicates an increase in the number of spatial units involved in spatial residential imbalance, reaching a significant level for the first time.
On the other hand, the value of the segregation index with border access for ethnic groups in Ashkhaneh city confirms the occurrence of spatial and residential segregation between ethnic groups. Especially for the Turkmen ethnic group, the value of this index is relatively high, indicating a greater intensity of segregation between this groups than other ethnic social groups.
The entropy index situation regarding the spatial distribution of the Turkmen, Turkish and Persian ethnic groups shows a relatively high level of diversity. Especially regarding the Turkmen ethnicity, the spatial distribution of the population has occurred unevenly throughout the urban space. Similarly and with less intensity, such a conclusion can be drawn regarding the spatial distribution of the Persian ethnicity, although the distance between the Shannon entropy index values for these two ethnic groups is larger, up to the maximum value of this index. On the other hand, the spatial distribution of the Kurdish ethnicity in spatial units has been relatively equal and uniform, and the diversity and centrality characteristics regarding this social group are assessed as weak.
Moran's local index showed that in the years under study, the distribution of the Turkish and Persian-speaking population lacked any clustering. However, in the same time period, signs of clustering in the population distribution of other ethnicities in different forms and intensities can be observed.

4. Discussion
The highest value of the dissimilarity index at the level of the six neighborhoods of Ashkhaneh city among different social groups was obtained for the Turkmen ethnicity. Therefore, it can be concluded that the concentration dimension of the residential segregation phenomenon for the Turkmen ethnicity in Ashkhaneh city is relatively high. The general trend of change in the two-group dissimilarity index for all ethnic groups at the level of Ashkhaneh neighborhoods has been increasing during the studied period. Although the intensity and speed of growth of this index are not equal for different social groups, it has grown faster for Kurdish and Turkmen ethnicities. Since a large part of the increase in the population of Ashkhaneh in the past two decades has been due to its immigration and has been higher than its natural growth and long-term average, the social groups that have been absorbed and migrated to Ashkhaneh have chosen neighborhoods that have more people from the same and identical ethnic group as their place of residence, increasing the intensity of the gathering and concentration of these social groups at the neighborhood level. The results of measuring the Shannon entropy and Moran local entropy indices also indicate the emergence of clustering and concentration in the spatial-residential distribution of the Turkmen ethnic group in Ashkhaneh.

5. Conclusion
Immigrants entering the city of Ashkhaneh have intensified the process of residential segregation of social groups in Ashkhaneh by increasing the population growth rate and the unequal spatial distribution resulting from ethnic-based settlement. The three ethnic groups, Turkmen, Persian, and Turkmen, experience residential segregation based on ethnicity in different proportions. The increasing trend of segregation indices shows that in the first stage, immigrants from different ethnic groups tend to settle in urban neighborhoods that have more ethnic and linguistic similarities with them. The continuation of the process entails the adaptation of immigrants to the new residential space, and with the arrival of new immigrants, the aforementioned process is repeated again. Thus, the process of growth and intensification of residential segregation of social groups based on ethnicity and language increases at the level of urban neighborhoods.
It seems necessary to investigate and study the consequences of the process of residential segregation of ethnic groups on the quality of life in urban neighborhoods, especially urban housing, and the access of different social groups to housing support services and the possibility of equitable use of facilities and opportunities. Considering the importance of the integration and cohesion of the urban community, any urban development planning in Ashkhaneh should focus on ethnic diversity and pluralism and greater compatibility of social groups in order to mix and balance the population distribution at the level of urban neighborhoods.

Author Contributions
In the preparation and writing of this article, all authors (first and second) have contributed equally and jointly. All stages of the research, from study design and data collection to analysis of results and final writing of the article, are the result of collaboration and collective agreement of all authors.

Data Availability Statement
Data available on request from the authors.

Acknowledgements
We are very grateful to everyone who assisted us in conducting this research. The authors declare that this article is the result of their original research and has not been previously presented or published in any journal or conference

Ethical Considerations
All authors affirm that this research was conducted in accordance with ethical standards, with no data fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism.

Funding
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest
Keywords
"
Residential Segregation"
Segregation Index"
, '
Socio-Spatial Dimensions"
, "
Ashkhaneh"
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Journal of Geographical Studies of Mountainous Areas
Volume 7, Issue 1 - Serial Number 25
Spring
Spring 2026
Pages 175-194