2018 Theses Master's

WATCH THEM SEGREGATE-Analyzing patterns of economic segregation and STEM jobs in commuter zones

Shubham, Shruti

STEM workers have been touted as the economic drivers at local and federal level (Langdon, McKittrick, Beede, Khan, & Doms, 2011), and urban planners often engineer policies for growth and economic development around their demand and supply. These individuals make 29 times more than their non-STEM counterparts (Langdon et al., 2011), and are consistently growing in number for the past 40 years (Watson, 2017). Therefore, it is essential to assess their impact on regional patterns. This thesis posits that STEM occupations drive patterns of economic segregation. To ascertain the validity of the phenomenon, the study assesses the relationship between the concentration of individuals involved in STEM occupations and two measures of economic segregation, economic diversity and concentration of poverty. Upon analyzing the statistics at regional and census tract level for the five commuter zones, Seattle (WA), Portland (OR), Denver (CO), Albuquerque (NM) and Fort Worth (TX), the study revealed mixed results. A secondary layer of spatial investigation was done to further explore the variability in the results.