Micro-Segregation: A Social History

We often envision segregation by class or caste at a large scale and in objective terms. It seems easy to identify a "slum city" or a "ghetto," particularly when profound differences in infrastructure differentiate them from other neighborhoods and residents have been explicitly minoritized. But what about the segregated microcosms that are peppered throughout human existence? In Micro-Segregation, Martin Ruef and Angelina Grigoryeva draw on archaeological, archival, ethnohistorical, and geospatial materials to document micro-segregation in a variety of societies and economic systems. They explain that micro-segregation occurs in social situations where interactions between individuals from distinct groups are not inhibited by sheer physical distance, but by institutional constraints and spatial configurations. From physical barriers to regulations regarding the use of amenities, micro-segregation prevents personal contact and social exchange.