Racial Diversity and Change in Metropolitan Neighborhoods

This study investigates the changing racial diversity and structure of metropolitan neighborhoods. We consider three alternative perspectives about localized racial change: that neighborhoods are bifurcating along a white/nonwhite color line, fragmenting into homogeneous enclaves, or integrating white, black, Latino, and Asian residents into diverse residential environments. To assess hypotheses drawn from these perspectives, we develop a hybrid methodology (incorporating the entropy index and majority-rule criteria) that offers advantages over previous typological efforts. Our analysis of 1990-2000 census tract data for the 100 largest US metropolitan areas finds that most neighborhoods are becoming more diverse and that members of all groups have experienced increasing exposure to neighborhood diversity. However, white populations tend to diminish rapidly in the presence of multiple minority groups and there has been concomitant white growth in low-diversity neighborhoods. Latino population dynamics have emerged as a primary force driving neighborhood change in a multi-group context.     

Workplace racial composition, perceived discrimination, and organizational attachment

Prior research has devoted considerable attention to the relationship between the racial and ethnic composition of jobs and various indicators of organizational attachment. Fewer studies, however, examine how workplace racial composition affects individuals’ experiences of racial discrimination or how these experiences impact workers’ organizational attachment. To address this lacuna, we first examine the effects of workplace racial composition on perceived racial and ethnic discrimination. Next, we examine whether perceived racial discrimination mediates the association between racial composition and organizational attachment observed in prior studies. Finally, we explore whether these relationships are similar (symmetric) or different (non-symmetric) for non-Whites and Whites. The analyses indicate: (1) working with predominately same-race coworkers tends to diminish perceptions of racial discrimination, (2) perceived racial discrimination mediates some of the effects of racial/ethnic composition on organizational attachment, and (3) some non-symmetric effects between non-Whites and Whites are found. We conclude with implications for future research.     

Perceptions as the crucial link? The mediating role of neighborhood perceptions in the relationship between the neighborhood context and neighborhood cohesion

This study examines the effects of neighborhood racial in-group size, economic deprivation and the prevalence of crime on neighborhood cohesion among U.S. whites. We explore to what extent residents' perceptions of their neighborhood mediate these macro-micro relationships. We use a recent individual-level data set, the American Social Fabric Study (2012/2013), enriched with contextual-level data from the U.S. Census Bureau (2010) and employ multi-level structural equation models. We show that the racial in-group size is positively related to neighborhood cohesion and that neighborhood cohesion is lower in communities with a high crime rate. Individuals' perceptions of the racial in-group size partly mediate the relationship between the objective racial in-group size and neighborhood cohesion. Residents’ perceptions of unsafety from crime also appear to be a mediating factor, not only for the objective crime rate but also for the objective racial in-group size. This is in line with our idea that racial stereotypes link racial minorities to crime whereby neighborhoods with a large non-white population are perceived to be more unsafe. Residents of the same neighborhood differ in how they perceive the degree of economic decay of the neighborhood and this causes them to evaluate neighborhood cohesion differently, however perceptions of neighborhood economic decay do not explain the link between the objective neighborhood context and neighborhood cohesion.     

Why do minorities participate less? The effects of immigration, education, and electoral process on Asian American voter registration and turnout

Despite their interest in racial differences in voting behavior, especially those between Blacks and Whites, social scientists typically have not focused explicitly on the relatively low participation rates of Asian Americans. Using the Current Population Survey Voting and Registration Supplements (1994–2000), I evaluate the utility of four explanations (socioeconomic, acculturation, differential return, and institutional barriers) for the low voter participation rates of Asian Americans and other racial minorities. I introduce a statistical model that permits a simultaneous estimation of voter registration and turnout. My results are 4-fold. First, socioeconomic explanations are less effective in understanding White-Asian differences than other White-minority comparisons. Second, immigration status and length of residency in the United States, as primary indicators of acculturation, represent the major hurdles to both Asian Americans and Hispanics for registering, but much less so for their vote-casting. Third, the positive effect of education on voter participation is relatively limited for Asian Americans, especially compared with that of Whites. Fourth, institutional barriers, most notably registration requirements, have disproportionately screened Asian Americans, and to a lesser degree Hispanics, from the final stage of vote-casting. My counterfactual analyses suggest that the differences in voter turnout between Asian Americans and Whites would virtually disappear in the absence of voter registration.     

Even whiter than we thought: What median residential exposure indices reveal about white neighborhood contact with African Americans in U.S. metropolitan areas

This paper expands upon earlier research concerning methodological issues with interracial exposure and isolation (p^*) indices. The earlier research, based on the fifty largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States, showed that due to skewness in the distribution of neighborhood racial compositions, these indices often overstate the degree of racial diversity in the neighborhoods of most individuals. That research showed that in the fifty largest metropolitan areas, a new measure, the median exposure or isolation index (p^*-md), provided a result more representative of the situation of most individuals. This paper expands the earlier research to include all U.S. metropolitan areas. Focusing on white exposure to African Americans, it is shown that in most metropolitan areas, the majority of whites live in areas significantly whiter than indicated by the p^* measure used in past studies. Moreover, the more segregated an area is, the more p^* understates the degree to which African Americans are excluded from most whites’ neighborhoods. Several implications of this finding for race relations are discussed. It is concluded that p^*-md provides a more accurate picture than p^* of the neighborhood racial composition of most white individuals.     

The relationship between neighborhood racial concentration and verbal ability: An investigation using the institutional resources model

Relatively few studies examine the relationship between racial residential segregation and educational or cognitive outcomes. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and the institutional resources model of neighborhood effects, I investigate one account of how macrostructural arrangements between race, neighborhood segregation, and school quality interact to produce inequalities in test scores. Consistent with the institutional resources model, results suggest that school quality varies across neighborhoods based, in part, on their degree of racial concentration. Indeed, school quality and other school characteristics mediate the relationship between racial concentration and verbal skills, particularly among black males. These findings have implications not only for inequalities in cognitive skills among blacks across residential space, but also between blacks and whites given high levels of residential segregation in the United States. In sum, findings illustrate yet another way in which residential segregation contributes to, and not merely reflects, racial inequalities.     

“Value in diversity”: School racial and ethnic composition,teacher diversity,and school punishment

American schools have become increasingly punitive and characterized by racial and ethnic disparities in punishment outcomes. Scholarship on the causes and consequences of this shift has highlighted the potential salience of school context. The current study extends this work by exploring the potential effect of an underexplored factor, teacher diversity, on suspension disparities. To date, explorations of the role of teacher diversity have been limited to its impact on academic outcomes, teacher perceptions, and behavioral outcomes. The current study fills a void in the existing literature by examining (1) whether greater teacher diversity is associated with reductions in racial and ethnic suspension disparities and (2) whether greater teacher diversity interacts with the size of the racial and ethnic student population to influence suspension disparities. This study contributes to the existing literature by extending the “value in diversity” perspective to the school setting. Additionally, the findings suggest that racial and ethnic diversity in positions of authority in the school setting fosters a more equitable approach to the administration of student punishment.     

Race,ageism and the slide from privileged occupations

The sociological literature on workplace inequality has been relatively clear regarding racial disparities and ongoing vulnerabilities to contemporary structural and employer biases. We still know little, however, about the consequences of age and ageism for minority workers and susceptibilities to downward mobility. Coupling insights regarding race with recent work on employment-based age discrimination, we interrogate in this article African Americans and Whites, aged 55 and older, and the extent to which they experience job loss across time. Our analyses, beyond controlling for key background attributes, distinguish and disaggregate patterns for higher and lower level status managers and professionals and for men and women. Results, derived from data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, reveal unique and significant inequalities. Relative to their White and gender specific counterparts, older African American men and women experience notably higher rates of downward mobility—downward mobility that is not explained by conventional explanations (i.e., human capital credentials, job/labor market characteristics, etc.). Such inequalities are especially pronounced among men and for those initially occupying higher status white-collar managerial and professional jobs compared to technical/skilled professional and blue-collar “first line” supervisors. We tie our results to contemporary concerns regarding ageism in the workplace as well as minority vulnerability. We also suggest an ageism-centered corrective to existing race and labor market scholarship.     

Segregation, the concentration of poverty, and the life chances of individuals

We outline a theoretical model that identifies residential segregation as a primary structural cause of the geographic concentration of poverty in U.S. urban areas. From this theory we specify and estimate a multilevel equation that links minority poverty and segregation within metropolitan areas to the concentration of socioeconomic deprivation within neighborhoods. We then estimate a second set of multilevel equations that connect neighborhood poverty rates to individual-level outcomes commonly associated with the underclass: male joblessness, teenage motherhood, and single parenthood. Our results link economic and social structures at the metropolitan level to individual outcomes that operate to perpetuate poverty and lead to the creation of the underclass.     

The specter of discrimination: Fear of interpersonal racial discrimination among adolescents in Chicago

This analysis examines fear of interpersonal racial discrimination among Black, Hispanic, and White adolescents. The extent and correlates of these concerns are examined using survey data from the Project for Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods. Borrowing from the fear-of-crime literature, the contact hypothesis, and group threat theory, several hypotheses are developed linking discrimination fear to direct personal experience with discrimination, indirect or vicarious experience, and environmental signals of discrimination. Results show that about half of Blacks and Hispanics have feared discrimination in the past year. Multivariate results indicate that fear is most likely if one has experienced victimization first-hand and when one's parent is affected by discrimination. Further, a larger presence neighborhood outgroups produces greater fear. Overall, discrimination fear constitutes an additional obstacle for minority adolescents as they transition to adulthood. The phenomenon warrants increased scholarly attention and represents a fruitful avenue for future research.     

Managing racial diversity: The context of state legal and political cultures

We draw on institutional theory to examine the connection between state-level regulation of equal employment and political cultures and race/ethnic minority presence in managerial positions in private U.S. workplaces. Analyses examining managerial diversity at upper- and lower-levels show that expanded state EEO posting requirements are associated with a greater presence of nonwhite managers at both levels, while weak state EEO compliance penalties are related to fewer nonwhite lower-level managers. State-level EEO recordkeeping requirements that exceed federal law are unassociated with nonwhite managerial presence at either lower- or upper-levels. Early adoption of fair employment practices agencies (FEPA) is positively associated with only lower-level managerial diversity, whereas progressive state government ideology is negatively related to top managerial diversity. Our findings highlight the complexity of state government regulation, oversight, and culture in shaping managerial racial/ethnic diversity. We discuss the implications of our results for future research and policy aimed at diversifying private workplaces.     

Are there neighborhood effects on young adult neighborhood attainment? Evidence from mixed-logit models

Studies of racial residential attainment show an intergenerational transmission of racial contexts from youth to adulthood, but it is unclear why this transmission is so robust. It is possible that experiences in racial contexts during youth have lasting effects on neighborhood selection in adulthood, but evidence for this claim has come from research using statistical methods that suffer from problems of ecological dependence and conflation of other neighborhood characteristics. In this study, we address these limitations using mixed-logit models, a form of discrete choice analyses, allowing us to control for differences across metropolitan areas and for multiple characteristics of neighborhoods that may affect the selection of destination neighborhoods. Data for the analyses come from the National Educational Longitudinal Study, the 1990 and 2000 Censuses, and other sources. We find that most of the intergenerational process results from young adults moving to neighborhoods short distances from their origin ones, but the models also suggest a contextual effect of youth experiences in racial compositions on neighborhood selection. The latter finding indicates that policies promoting integration among youth can have long-lasting effects on residential attainment.     

Disentangling the reciprocal relationship between change in crime and racial/ethnic change

Prior research has found that racial/ethnic change and residential instability are positively related to neighborhood crime. However, the process of racial/ethnic change differentially influences crime above and beyond residential instability. While both processes affect crime through the disruption of existing social ties, racial/ethnic change has additional consequences for crime by heightening racial/ethnic tensions and undercutting cross-group interactions. This means racial/ethnic change is a different process than residential instability, and suggests that neighborhoods experiencing high rates of instability and high rates of racial/ethnic change may be particularly susceptible to crime. Therefore, we examine the influence of racial/ethnic compositional change on change in crime across different levels of residential instability. Further, we argue that demographic change and crime may be influencing each other simultaneously: increases in the crime rate and racial/ethnic compositional change impact each other at the same time. To capture this process, we employ a structural equation model (SEM) that accounts for the reciprocal and simultaneous relationship between racial/ethnic change and violent and property crime rates in Los Angeles, California between 1990 and 2000. We also account for the influence of change in spatially proximate communities. Results show robust evidence that increases in racial/ethnic change contributes to greater violent and property crime rates, but the reciprocal influence of crime on racial/ethnic change is contingent upon the degree to which a neighborhood is experiencing residential instability and crime type.     

Metropolitan influences on migration into poor and nonpoor neighborhoods

Data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and three decennial US censuses are used to examine the influence of metropolitan-area characteristics on black and white households’ propensity to move into poor versus nonpoor neighborhoods. We find that a nontrivial portion of the variance in the odds of moving to a poor rather to a nonpoor neighborhood exists between metropolitan areas. Net of established individual-level predictors of inter-neighborhood migration, black and white households are more likely to move to a poor or extremely poor tract rather than to a nonpoor tract in metropolitan areas containing many poor neighborhoods and a paucity of recently-built housing in nonpoor areas. Blacks are especially likely to move to a poor tract in metropolitan areas characterized by high levels of racial residential segregation and in which poor tracts have a sizeable concentration of blacks. White households are more likely to move to a poor than to a nonpoor tract in metropolitan areas that have comparatively few African Americans.     

A Systemic Approach to Racial Residential Patterns

This paper applied the model of Linear System of Action developed by Coleman (1992) to understand racial composition in neighborhoods from a systemic approach. The model had an advantage to consider how an individual household simultaneously maximizes all desirable neighborhood qualities with limited socioeconomic resources. The model generated relative values of socioeconomic resources and neighborhood qualities of each racial group in the exchange process. In addition, the model estimated a preference hierarchy of neighborhood qualities of each group. Results suggested that blacks and Asians in Canada tend to live in neighborhoods with higher proportions of their own groups because blacks may be steered away from predominantly white neighborhoods and Asians experience low returns on their socioeconomic resources in improving spatial contact with whites.     

Neighborhood distress and school dropout: the variable significance of community context

Although a substantial body of recent research has examined the impact of neighborhood socioeconomic distress on youth socioeconomic attainment and urban social dislocations, few studies have determined under what conditions, and for what types of adolescents, neighborhood characteristics matter most. Drawing on theories of collective socialization, social capital, and social control, we develop hypotheses regarding the conditional nature of neighborhood effects on the risk of dropping out of high school, and we then test these hypotheses by estimating event history models based on data from the 1968–1993 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. We find that, among African Americans, the detrimental impact of neighborhood socioeconomic distress on school dropout has increased significantly over the past quarter-century, a probable repercussion of the increasing geographic concentration of urban poverty. The negative effect of neighborhood distress on high school completion is particularly pronounced among black adolescents from single-parent households and among white adolescents from low-income families, results broadly consistent with Wilson’s claim that exposure to neighborhood poverty reinforces the damaging consequences of individual disadvantage. Supporting the social capital perspective, among both black and white adolescents the deleterious impact of neighborhood distress on school dropout is stronger for recent in-movers than for long-term residents. The impact of neighborhood disadvantage also varies significantly by gender for both racial groups and, among whites, is stronger for younger than older adolescents. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these findings for theories of neighborhood effects.     

I wouldn’t, but you can: Attitudes toward interracial relationships

Using the 2008 Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES), we study Whites’ attitudes towards dating, cohabiting with, marrying, and having children with African Americans and Asian Americans. We find that 29% of White respondents reject all types of relationships with both groups whereas 31% endorse all types. Second, Whites are somewhat less willing to marry and bear children interracially than to date interracially. These attitudes and behaviors are related to warmth toward racial outgroups, political conservatism, age, gender, education, and region. Third, White women are likely to approve of interracial relationships for others but not themselves, while White men express more willingness to engage in such relationships personally, particularly with Asians. However, neither White men nor White women are very likely to actually engage in interracial relationships. Thus, positive globalattitudes toward interracial relationships do not translate into high rates of actual interracial cohabitation or marriage.     

Racial identity and the quality of life among blacks and whites in the U.S.

Social identity theory and research on mental health among racial minority groups suggest that a stronger, more positive racial identity will be related to a higher subjective quality of life. We investigate how ingroup closeness, ingroup evaluation, and ingroup bias are associated with happiness, positive affect about life, and generalized trust for blacks and whites, using partial proportional odds models. Data came from the 1996–2014 General Social Surveys (N = 6553). Ingroup closeness and more favorable ingroup evaluation had mostly positive associations with the quality of life dimensions. Contrary to what social identity theory would predict, ingroup bias was either unrelated or negatively related to them. Racial identity functions somewhat differently for blacks and whites. Ingroup evaluation and ingroup bias were related to greater positive affect about life for blacks but lower positive affect about life for whites.     

Everybody's Doin' It (Right?): Neighborhood Norms and Sexual Activity in Adolescence

A neighborhood’s normative climate is linked to, but conceptually distinct from, its structural characteristics such as poverty and racial/ethnic composition. Given the deleterious consequences of early sexual activity for adolescent health and well-being, it is important to assess normative influences on youth behaviors such as sexual debut, number of sex partners, and involvement in casual sexual experiences. The current study moves beyond prior research by constructing a measure of normative climate that more fully captures neighborhood norms, and analyzing the influence of normative climate on behavior in a longitudinal framework. Using recently geo-coded data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (TARS), we analyze the effect of normative climate on adolescents’ sexual behaviors. Results indicate that variation in neighborhood normative climates increases adolescents’ odds of sexual debut and casual sex, and is associated with their number of sex partners, even after accounting for neighborhood structural disadvantage and demographic risk factors.     

Trust and contact in diverse neighbourhoods: An interplay of four ethnicity effects

Ethnically diverse neighbourhoods are generally less cohesive. A negative relationship between neighbourhood diversity and social cohesion is, however, neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition to conclude that neighbourhood diversity erodes intra-neighbourhood cohesion. This contribution shows – by using data collected during the second wave of the NEtherlands Longitudinal Lifecourse Study (NELLS) – that: (1) members of ethnic minority groups are more likely to report having contact with and trust their immediate neighbours than natives (ego ethnicity effect); (2) minority group residents are less likely to be contacted and trusted by their neighbours (alter ethnicity effect) and (3) all ethnic groups prefer to mix with coethnics (dyad ethnicity effect). Once we control for these three ethnic composition effects at the ego, alter and dyad-level, neighbourhood ethnic diversity is no longer related to less contact between neighbours. Previously identified negative relationships between neighbourhood diversity and cohesion should therefore be re-evaluated, as they may be the consequence of ethnic composition effects instead of a true neighbourhood diversity effect.