It seems the political polarisation in the US is creating separation in more ways than just opinions and is getting more profound. What could possibly bring the people of the USA closer together in the 21st century......
Extreme partisan segregation goes down to a hyper-local level in the United States.
Democrats and Republicans physically cluster together even in small geographic areas, such as cities and neighborhoods, according to new research published in Nature Human Behaviour. The study indicates that American voters live in politically isolated residential environments with very little local exposure to members of the opposing party.
“The geographic separation of Democrats and Republicans is something that is easily observable in a macro sense, in that we can look at county or state maps of the presidential vote and see clear red and blue areas, and this is phenomenon has been shown in research to influence electoral outcomes, representation, and policy,” explained lead researcher Jacob R. Brown, a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University.
“But the measurement of partisan segregation is usually quite blunt, relying on aggregate summaries, and we were interested in using individual-level data to measure exposure to Democratic and Republican neighbors with greater specificity than prior studies.”
For their study, the researchers used the residential addresses of every registered voter in the United States to calculate the partisan segregation of more than 180 million individuals.
“We measure the local residential partisan exposure of every voter in the country by identifying their 1,000 nearest registered neighbors, calculating the distance they live from each of these neighbors, and creating a weighted average of the proportion of their neighbors who are Democratic voters or Republican voters that gives greater weight to neighbors who live closer to you,” Brown explained to PsyPost.
The researchers found a high degree of partisan segregation across the country. “Many voters live with very little exposure to neighbors of the opposite party,” Brown said. Democrat exposure to Republicans tended to be lower than Republican exposure to Democrats.
The most extreme political isolation was found among Democrats living in densely populated cities like New York, with 10 percent of them encountering a Republican only one out of 10 times in their neighborhood. A high level of political isolation was also observed among Republicans living in low-density rural areas.
But this political isolation was not just a result of the partisan-leanings of urban and rural populations. Democrats and Republicans tended to be segregated from one another within suburban areas, and even within neighborhoods.
“Even when Democrats and Republicans live in the same small region, such as a city or neighborhood, we still see that they tend to live in different parts of these small geographies. This demonstrates a pervasive level of separation even conditional on living in the same larger area,” Brown said.
Partisan segregation also appeared to be distinct from racial and ethnic segregation. “Partisan segregation is correlated with racial segregation, but cannot be fully explained by it. For example, even just looking at same-race neighbors, we still see Democrats and Republicans clustering together,” Brown told PsyPost.
Previous research has found that political polarization among Americans has grown rapidly in the last 40 years, and the researchers fear that political isolation could be a driving force behind ideological extremism. But the causes and consequences of the observed segregation are still unclear.
"Future questions include how living in homogeneous neighborhoods influences voters, in their political participation and their own partisan attitudes,” Brown said. “The level of micro-segregation shown in the paper also motivates inquiries into what forces drive political segregation. These are ongoing research efforts by myself and colleagues.”
The study, “The measurement of partisan sorting for 180 million voters“, was authored by Jacob R. Brown and Ryan D. Enos.
bodleing2: So you don't think there's any truth in this mikey?
Sure I do, the Libtards are looking to divide and conquer.. It's not just in the US.. They are looking to take the whole ball of wax.. Yourself included, so just keep joking..
My oldest daughter is an independent like me. My son is as left as anyone can be...My youngest daughter is as right as anyone can be...will not get the vaccine...
Last time I looked we lived in the same house for 18 years, until they went off to college.
I’m off to get my hair done by my son’s ex-partner..they had to go to New York to get married..but got the divorce in Florida...Now that is equal opportunity there.
We don’t hold grudges in my family...nor do we call each other names.
My oldest daughter is an independent like me. My son is as left as anyone can be...My youngest daughter is as right as anyone can be...will not get the vaccine...
Last time I looked we lived in the same house for 18 years, until they went off to college.
I’m off to get my hair done by my son’s ex-partner..they had to go to New York to get married..but got the divorce in Florida...Now that is equal opportunity there.
We don’t hold grudges in my family...nor do we call each other names.
Have fun arguing..
On the face of it, it seems like quite an in depth study. Surely it's the case that political polarisation in the US has increased in recent times.
Anonymized replication data are available in the Harvard University Dataverse at
I think if the American people just gave President Joe a chance and got behind him, he could unite the people.. He has been in office from the 6th of January and the begrudgers can't even except that they lost the election..
Name_Taken_Too: I think if the American people just gave President Joe a chance and got behind him, he could unite the people.. He has been in office from the 6th of January and the begrudgers can't even except that they lost the election..
I wish all Americans the best..
Thank God then that American women won't have to worry about you bugging them.
bodleing2: It seems the political polarisation in the US is creating separation in more ways than just opinions and is getting more profound. What could possibly bring the people of the USA closer together in the 21st century......
Extreme partisan segregation goes down to a hyper-local level in the United States.
Democrats and Republicans physically cluster together even in small geographic areas, such as cities and neighborhoods, according to new research published in Nature Human Behaviour. The study indicates that American voters live in politically isolated residential environments with very little local exposure to members of the opposing party.
“The geographic separation of Democrats and Republicans is something that is easily observable in a macro sense, in that we can look at county or state maps of the presidential vote and see clear red and blue areas, and this is phenomenon has been shown in research to influence electoral outcomes, representation, and policy,” explained lead researcher Jacob R. Brown, a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University.
“But the measurement of partisan segregation is usually quite blunt, relying on aggregate summaries, and we were interested in using individual-level data to measure exposure to Democratic and Republican neighbors with greater specificity than prior studies.”
For their study, the researchers used the residential addresses of every registered voter in the United States to calculate the partisan segregation of more than 180 million individuals.
“We measure the local residential partisan exposure of every voter in the country by identifying their 1,000 nearest registered neighbors, calculating the distance they live from each of these neighbors, and creating a weighted average of the proportion of their neighbors who are Democratic voters or Republican voters that gives greater weight to neighbors who live closer to you,” Brown explained to PsyPost.
The researchers found a high degree of partisan segregation across the country. “Many voters live with very little exposure to neighbors of the opposite party,” Brown said. Democrat exposure to Republicans tended to be lower than Republican exposure to Democrats.
The most extreme political isolation was found among Democrats living in densely populated cities like New York, with 10 percent of them encountering a Republican only one out of 10 times in their neighborhood. A high level of political isolation was also observed among Republicans living in low-density rural areas.
But this political isolation was not just a result of the partisan-leanings of urban and rural populations. Democrats and Republicans tended to be segregated from one another within suburban areas, and even within neighborhoods...
...Previous research has found that political polarization among Americans has grown rapidly in the last 40 years, and the researchers fear that political isolation could be a driving force behind ideological extremism. But the causes and consequences of the observed segregation are still unclear.
Cont....
180 million registered voters (out of what is it? something like 350 million). Cross referenced and weighted them too.? .That's a pretty in-depth study.
If only it were just a political divide. Add to that racial divide, the social divide, the income divide, the religious divide, all the little divides within the bigger divides...the list is endless... then they go online and spend their evenings online calling each other names. How they're not exhuasted and battle weary is beyond me...It's no wonder they're all on some sort of medication and can't be civil, everyone everywhere is some sort of enemy.
Are there any comparison studies which identify partisan segregation, or otherwise in other countries and whether there is a correlation with division, or co-operation?
jac_the_gripper: Are there any comparison studies which identify partisan segregation, or otherwise in other countries and whether there is a correlation with division, or co-operation?
I'm not sure but it would be interesting to compare if there were.
Name_Taken_Too: I'm not big into Communism Mikey, a touch of Socialism maybe.. But sometimes I wonder when I watch all the division, would a one party state be a better way..
The only way to resolve any political differences is to have a civil war . That will also solve the homeless situation
jac_the_gripper: Are there any comparison studies which identify partisan segregation, or otherwise in other countries and whether there is a correlation with division, or co-operation?
I think it's the degree of polarisation and the fact it's on the increase that's the concern. It would seem the US is not alone when it comes to volatile us and them mentality, we had a similar experience here in the UK over brexit. It just appears these days there's no middle ground and no appetite for compomise with either side moving futher and further apart.
Youcannow: The only way to resolve any political differences is to have a civil war . That will also solve the homeless situation
Nah bro, wars are ugly, love is lovely.. When I think of American politics I always flashback to first hearing this speech, I always thought Wow! such words..
Name_Taken_Too: Nah bro, wars are ugly, love is lovely.. When I think of American politics I always flashback to first hearing this speech, I always thought Wow! such words..
Increase the peace..
Under normal circumstances, I would agree but You’re not dealing with a civilised society.
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Extreme partisan segregation goes down to a hyper-local level in the United States.
Democrats and Republicans physically cluster together even in small geographic areas, such as cities and neighborhoods, according to new research published in Nature Human Behaviour. The study indicates that American voters live in politically isolated residential environments with very little local exposure to members of the opposing party.
“The geographic separation of Democrats and Republicans is something that is easily observable in a macro sense, in that we can look at county or state maps of the presidential vote and see clear red and blue areas, and this is phenomenon has been shown in research to influence electoral outcomes, representation, and policy,” explained lead researcher Jacob R. Brown, a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University.
“But the measurement of partisan segregation is usually quite blunt, relying on aggregate summaries, and we were interested in using individual-level data to measure exposure to Democratic and Republican neighbors with greater specificity than prior studies.”
For their study, the researchers used the residential addresses of every registered voter in the United States to calculate the partisan segregation of more than 180 million individuals.
“We measure the local residential partisan exposure of every voter in the country by identifying their 1,000 nearest registered neighbors, calculating the distance they live from each of these neighbors, and creating a weighted average of the proportion of their neighbors who are Democratic voters or Republican voters that gives greater weight to neighbors who live closer to you,” Brown explained to PsyPost.
The researchers found a high degree of partisan segregation across the country. “Many voters live with very little exposure to neighbors of the opposite party,” Brown said. Democrat exposure to Republicans tended to be lower than Republican exposure to Democrats.
The most extreme political isolation was found among Democrats living in densely populated cities like New York, with 10 percent of them encountering a Republican only one out of 10 times in their neighborhood. A high level of political isolation was also observed among Republicans living in low-density rural areas.
But this political isolation was not just a result of the partisan-leanings of urban and rural populations. Democrats and Republicans tended to be segregated from one another within suburban areas, and even within neighborhoods.
“Even when Democrats and Republicans live in the same small region, such as a city or neighborhood, we still see that they tend to live in different parts of these small geographies. This demonstrates a pervasive level of separation even conditional on living in the same larger area,” Brown said.
Partisan segregation also appeared to be distinct from racial and ethnic segregation. “Partisan segregation is correlated with racial segregation, but cannot be fully explained by it. For example, even just looking at same-race neighbors, we still see Democrats and Republicans clustering together,” Brown told PsyPost.
Previous research has found that political polarization among Americans has grown rapidly in the last 40 years, and the researchers fear that political isolation could be a driving force behind ideological extremism. But the causes and consequences of the observed segregation are still unclear.
Cont....