Classification Approaches in Neighborhood Research
2010 AAG ANNUAL MEETING
April 14-18, 2010, Washington, DC

Organizers: Brian Mikelbank (b.mikelbank@csuohio.edu) and Michael Reibel
(mreibel@csupomona.edu)

Co-Sponsors: Population, Urban, and Spatial Analysis and Modeling Specialty Groups

The majority of theoretical questions in neighborhood research center on issues
of classification. How to create categorical constructs that both aid in our
understanding of neighborhood phenomena while preserving the detail necessary to
learn from their complexity. Such constructs include temporally cross-sectional
phenomena such as urban bli ght, ethnic or other subpopulation enclaves,
territories of the underclass and local niches of particular economic activities
as well as dynamic processes such as gentrification, abandonment, and group
succession. 

In the simplest case the analyst identifies those neighborhoods that exceed
thresholds of values in terms of a single characteristic thought to measure the
construct. But because urban reality is messy, combinations of characteristics
often define constructs and functional areas, so that the categorical or
interval classification must occur in multivariate data space. Both the
increased access to digital neighborhood data, and the increased complexity of
urban processes and phenomena make the need for classification techniques more
important than ever before. 

We welcome papers dealing with the theoretical, methodological, and/or empirical
challenges of neighborhood classification research. These might include papers
implementing some combination of cluster, threshold, factorial, or discriminant
analyses, in static, temporal, and/or spatial contexts. The approach and topical
areas of application are both open. 

Please send expressions of interest, questions and/or title and abstract of 250
words or less to Brian Mikelbank (b.mikelbank@csuohio.edu) and Michael Reibel
(mreibel@csupomona.edu by October 14, 2009. Contributors will have to r egister
for the conference and submit their abstract through the AAG website separately.