Abstract
The study proposed to analyze the patterns of residential differentiation and inequality within the urban population of the Grande Vitoria agglomeration, Esp(')irito Santo, Brazil. The data source was a special sector archive of the 1970 Brazilian Demographic Census. A factor analysis of forty socioeconomic and demographic variables was performed for 232 census sectors selected for study.The urban agglomeration of Grande Vitoria in 1970 exhibited varying degrees of residential differentiation, which suggested an underlying process of social differentiation and an emerging system of stratification. The factorial ecology of the urban system showed residential differentiation to be based on social rank, family life cycle and migrant/worker status. The spatial distribution of these dimensions revealed a complex mosaic of overlapping subareas, with no one major territorial aggregation of census sectors visible within the system.Residential areas were differentiated by middle class and elite status, highly associated with income levels and occupational categories. Income inequality and levels of social well-being demonstrated the extent of social stratification in the urban system.