Surname affinity in Santiago, Chile: A network-based approach that uncovers urban segregation

PLoS One. 2021 Jan 6;16(1):e0244372. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0244372. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Based on a geocoded registry of more than four million residents of Santiago, Chile, we build two surname-based networks that reveal the city's population structure. The first network is formed from paternal and maternal surname pairs. The second network is formed from the isonymic distances between the city's neighborhoods. These networks uncover the city's main ethnic groups and their spatial distribution. We match the networks to a socioeconomic index, and find that surnames of high socioeconomic status tend to cluster, be more diverse, and occupy a well-defined quarter of the city. The results are suggestive of a high degree of urban segregation in Santiago.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Chile
  • Humans
  • Names
  • Residence Characteristics
  • Social Class
  • Social Segregation*
  • Urban Population

Associated data

  • figshare/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5230835.v1

Grants and funding

Naim Bro and Marcelo Mendoza acknowledge funding support from the Millennium Institute for Foundational Research on Data. Marcelo Mendoza was funded by the National Agency of Research and Development (ANID) grants Programa de Investigación Asociativa (PIA) AFB180002 and Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico (FONDECYT) 1200211.