Studying the Socio-spatial Segregation of Migrants in Mashhad

Sociospatial segregation is one of the most significant challenges that cities are encountering with it these days. Migration is considered as one of the causes which lead to the emergence of the so-called phenomenon and Mashhad City with regarding its features has attracted many migrants who choose specific parts of the city for their housing based on their preferences. The current study aims to study the residential pattern of migrants and their preferences for selecting a place for living. Descriptive – analytical method and second-hand data from census and Mashhad’s comprehensive plan are used to investigate the socio-spatial segregation of migrants. Moreover, two-group and multi-group indexes, spatial analysis of Moran and hot spot along with Pearson correlation are used to analyse the data. Results indicate that due to the multi-group index which is 0.44 and due to the Moran statistics, migrants are living segregated and clustered in Mashhad. Thus, one of their most important preferences for inhibiting somewhere it the existence of their own group. On the other hand, the significant relations between the share of migrants from total population and some socioeconomic and households variables indicate that migrants usually select residential environments which are appropriate for them based on their socioeconomic origins. Therefore, migrants who are fro, lower classes tend to choose places, which are run down. As a result, these factors not only separate migrants from the main fabric of the city and each other but also segregation and spatial gap are strengthened in Mashhad which hinders the idea of sustainable development to implement.