Editorial Type:
Article Category: Research Article
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Online Publication Date: 24 Feb 2011

Spatial Patterns of Social Well-Being at the District Level in Peninsular Malaysia

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Page Range: 81 – 92
DOI: 10.5555/arwg.13.2.y5283123125124g7
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In general, Malaysia as a nation has undergone tremendous socio-economic development since attaining its independence in 1957. Nevertheless, on close examination, recent data still depict unequal levels of social well-being at the lowest (i.e., district administrative) level. This article describes spatial patterns of social well-being based on a number of factors thought to have a significant influence on social wellbeing levels. Better access to the use of GIS as an analytical tool has meant that the phenomena of spatial disparities in development can now be analyzed and displayed with better accuracy. Spatial disparities in social well-being levels are analyzed via the spatial auto-correlation method, based on Moran's I Index. The study found that the cluster of districts in the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia, inner-city districts, and districts bordering on major urban centres showed low levels of social well-being.

La Malaisie a globalement connu un développement socio-économique remarquable depuis son indépendance en 1957. Néanmoins, en examinant de plus près des données récentes, on peut repérer des niveaux de bien-être social très contrastés à l'échelle des districts administratifs. Cet article décrit la distribution géographique de la prospérité sociale grâce à un certain nombre de facteurs pouvant influencer les différentes échelles de bien-être social. L'utilisation plus aisée des SIG comme outil d'analyse permet maintenant de montrer ces inégalités spatiales avec plus de précision. Les disparités spatiales des niveaux de bien-être social sont analysées à l'aide de la méthode d'auto-corrélation spatiale basée sur l'Indice I de Moran. L'analyse a montré l'existence d'un bas niveau de bien-être dans un groupe de districts de la partie septentrionale de la Malaisie péninsulaire, dans les districts des centres-villes et ceux à la périphérie des grands centres urbains.

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