Factorial ecology: A study of the spatial distribution of social characteristics in the Salt Lake City Urban area

The present study is a descriptive analysis of the residential characteristics of Salt Lake City's metropolitan population. In specific, the study attempts to locate and describe the factors which best account for the variation in the characteristics between census tracts. The methodology used is that of factor analysis. The subject area is Salt Lake County and the units of analysis are the 91 census tracts within the county boundaries. As independent variables, 17 final characteristics were derived from the 1970 census of the Salt Lake City Urban area. From this analysis came two factors which accounted for 82.9 percent of the variance in census tract composition. Factor 1 was labeled a life cycle factor and explained 59.9 percent of the variance; Factor 2 was called SES and explained 23.0 percent of the variance. The results provided strong support for the applicability of the social rank indicator of Shevky's Social Area Analysis for Salt Lake City but not for the segregation and urbanization indicators. The findings are compared to another factorial ecology of Chicago and are found to be highly similar. The results are also discussed as having some bearing on the theoretical perspective of the Residential Location Decision model. Further studies are suggested which would provide a more detailed analysis of the two principal factors of SES and Life Cycle and which would include a spatial mapping of these factors which figure so prominently in the description and explanation of census tract variation of population characteristics.