Who Goes There? A New Way To Experimentally Assess Spatial Preferences

• In Event: Using Experimental Methods to Explore Criminological Topics

Abstract

Traditional surveys measuring social exclusion and community preferences often neglect explicit spatial arrangements—capturing whom respondents prefer but not where they place them. To address this gap, I introduce a novel, interactive grid-based survey-experimental tool implemented using customizable HTML and JavaScript for Qualtrics integration. In this method, respondents place various attributes—such as racial identities or firearm ownership—onto neighborhood grid cells surrounding their own house, visually mapping their preferences in real-time. Coordinate-based data collection enables precise measurement of spatial exclusion, such as placement distance or clustering ("corner quarantining").
Pilot tests (n=1,000) confirm the tool’s usability, highlighting respondents systematically positioning less-desirable attributes at greater distances or peripheral grid corners. Analyses using logistic regression and random forests demonstrate the method’s power for detecting nuanced spatial biases often obscured by conventional surveys. By systematically capturing spatial preferences, this flexible, open-source tool enables criminologists and policymakers to better understand community boundary-making, segregation processes, and the subtle spatial enactment of stigma around sensitive issues. Broader applications include studying seating preferences, resource placement decisions, and community responses to stigmatized facilities like prisons or safe injection sites, underscoring the method's versatility for experimental spatial social research.

Authors

• Justin Lucas Sola, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Samuel Filmeyer, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill