RESIDENTIAL INTERRACIAL EXPOSURE AND ISOLATION INDICES: Mean versus Median Indices, and the Difference It Makes

Interracial exposure and isolation ( p *) indices have been widely used in studies of residential racial segregation. However, a recent pilot study raised serious issues about the use of these indices, because they are based on the mean statistic, which may yield misleading results in the case of skewed distributions, as is often the case with census tract racial compositions. An alternative median exposure index ( p *- md ) is proposed, and mean and median indices of white-to-African-American and African-American-to-white exposure, as well as white and African-American isolation, are compared for the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the United States. The analysis shows that the mean and median measures produce different results, and that most of these differences are maximized in those areas that are most segregated and, especially for African-American-to-white exposure, in areas where the largest number of African Americans live. This creates significant problems in the interpretation and use of mean exposure and isolation indices, and in most cases, the median index yields a result more representative of the residential neighborhood situation of the majority of whites and African Americans. A particular problem with the mean exposure indices currently in common use is their tendency to overstate the degree of neighborhood-level interracial contact in U.S. metropolitan areas, and, in so doing, to understate the impact of racial housing discrimination.     

Racial Residential Segregation in Urban America

There are numerous causes and consequences of racial residential segregation in American metropolitan areas, and a long-standing literature is filled with debates about them. We provide an overview of the trends and patterns regarding racial residential segregation, focusing primarily on blacks and whites. We pay special attention to the competing arguments about race and class in the context of residential stratification. We then discuss the many causes of residential segregation, and its social and economic consequences. After the overview, we identify key gaps in the literature. We discuss three broad substantive areas of research that expand the study of racial residential segregation: (i) the everyday experiences of race, class, and gender disadvantage as they are related to segregation; (ii) contemporary immigration streams and their impact on black-white residential dynamics; and (iii) the power of political-economic forces to transform residentially segregated spaces, with a particular emphasis on processes related to gentrification and home mortgage lending.     

Emerging Patterns of Hispanic Residential Segregation: Lessons from Rural and Small‐Town America

The past two decades have ushered in a period of widespread spatial diffusion of Hispanics well beyond traditional metropolitan gateways. This article examines emerging patterns of racial and ethnic residential segregation in new Hispanic destinations over the 1990–2010 period, linking county, place, and block data from the 1990, 2000, and 2010 decennial censuses. Our multiscalar analyses of segregation are framed by classical models of immigrant assimilation and alternative models of place stratification. We ask whether Hispanics are integrating spatially with the native population and whether recent demographic and economic processes have eroded or perpetuated racial boundaries in nonmetropolitan areas. We show that Hispanic residential segregation from whites is often exceptionally high and declining slowly in rural counties and communities. New Hispanic destinations, on average, have higher Hispanic segregation levels than established gateway communities. The results also highlight microscale segregation patterns within rural places and in the open countryside (i.e., outside places), a result that is consistent with emerging patterns of “white flight.” Observed estimates of Hispanic‐white segregation across fast‐growing nonmetropolitan counties often hide substantial heterogeneity in residential segregation. Divergent patterns of rural segregation reflect local‐area differences in population dynamics, economic inequality, and the county employment base (using Economic Research Service functional specialization codes). Illustrative maps of Hispanic boom counties highlight spatially uneven patterns of racial diversity. They also provide an empirical basis for our multivariate analyses, which show that divergent patterns of local‐area segregation often reflect spatial variation in employment across different industrial sectors.     

Neighborhood Diversity, Metropolitan Constraints, and Household Migration

Focusing on micro-level processes of residential segregation, this analysis combines data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics with contextual information from three censuses and several other sources to examine patterns of residential mobility between neighborhoods populated by different combinations of racial and ethnic groups. We find that despite the emergence of multiethnic neighborhoods, stratified mobility dynamics continue to dominate, with relatively few black or white households moving into neighborhoods that could be considered multiethnic. However, we also find that the tendency for white and black households to move between neighborhoods dominated by their own group varies significantly across metropolitan areas. Black and white households' mobility into more integrated neighborhoods is shaped substantially by demographic, economic, political, and spatial features of the broader metropolitan area. Metropolitan-area racial composition, the stock of new housing, residential separation of black and white households, poverty rates, and functional specialization emerge as particularly important predictors. These macro-level effects reflect opportunities for intergroup residential contact as well as structural forces that maintain residential segregation.     

Racial residential segregation and the concentration of low- and high-income households in the 45 largest U.S. metropolitan areas

"The objectives of this paper are to determine the relationship between racial residential segregation and (1) the spatial concentration of low- and high-income households, and (2) the socioeconomic characteristics of racial minority households. The three largest racial minority groups are compared (blacks, Hispanics, and Asians) in the largest 45 metropolitan areas in the United States. Data were obtained from the U.S. bureau of the Census' Population and Housing Summary Tape files. The results revealed that residential segregation of blacks was distinctly different from Asians and Hispanics. Moreover, for Asians and Hispanics, their socioeconomic characteristics matter in their level of residential segregation. For black households, however, their socioeconomic characteristics matter little."     

The Allocation of Black Workers into the Public Sector

Abstract

This study examines the effects of individual and structural factors on the odds that a black worker will be employed in the public sector (federal or state-local government) rather than the private sector. The independent variables include human capital, gender, citizenship, and the structural features of the labor markets (metropolitan areas) in which these workers reside (percent black, residential segregation, geographic region). The study focuses on percent black and residential segregation, two variables which significantly influence discrimination, group power and the employment opportunities of black workers. Logistic regression shows that, controlling for other factors, the odds of black employment in the public sector are highest in metropolitan areas that have large black populations and relatively low levels of residential segregation. These findings indicate that the allocation of black workers into the public sector results from processes of both discrimination and group power. The implications of the findings for the future prospects of black Americans to advance economically through public sector employment are discussed.     

Residential Segregation on the Island: The Role of Race and Class in Puerto Rican Neighborhoods

In this paper, we use racial data from Census 2000, available for the first time in 50 years, to examine the links among race, socioeconomic status, and residential location on the island of Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans overwhelmingly chose white as their race, and they chose only one race, not a combination of races that would seem more in keeping with the ideology of mestizaje. Overall, segregation by race is modest compared with residential segregation in the United States. In keeping with the Puerto Rican claim that class is more important than race, we find that segregation by race is generally lower than segregation between the lowest and highest income categories in all metro areas, but that the results for education and occupational status differ by metropolitan area. In San Juan-Bayamón, the most diverse metropolitan area on the island, we find that as percent black increases, neighborhood socioeconomic status decreases, though the changes are not that stark, except in Loiza, a community of black Puerto Ricans and in some Dominican neighborhoods, though there are relatively few of these neighborhoods.     

Nonmetropolitan Residential Segregation Revisited

Abstract Nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) residential segregation in 1990 and change in the preceding decade have received insufficient attention. A set of empirical hypotheses are derived and assessed using nonmetro and metropolitan (metro) counties in Texas. Places in nonmetro counties were more segregated than places in metro counties in 1990 as in 1980. Substantial declines in segregation occurred in both nonmetro and metro places but were largest in growing places in nonmetro counties. An analysis controlling for other determinants of segregation supports the premise that population change was a major determinant of 1980–1990 change in segregation. Implications for nonmetro areas in the 1990s are discussed.     

The Residential Mobility of Seniors Among Different Residential Forms: Analysis of Metropolitan and Rural Issues for Six Contrasted Regions in Québec,Canada

The purpose of this research is to describe and analyze the residential mobility of senior citizens, between 2006 and 2011, among different residential forms in rural and metropolitan areas in the province of Quebec (Canada). A systematic analysis of residential form variability in territories that include both metropolitan and rural areas is performed. First, a typology of residential forms is proposed using a principal component analysis and a hierarchical cluster analysis on environment-related and housing variables. Second, the residential mobility of seniors among these different residential forms is analyzed. The results reveal a certain amount of residential stability among seniors, except where specific conditions are met, such as the death of a spouse or the onset of health problems limiting day-to-day activities. For those who moved, high-rise habitat areas and mixed areas with older rental apartments held the greatest attraction. However, suburban areas attracted the largest number of seniors because these areas account for a sizeable portion of the real estate market.     

Blind Faith in the Free Market: Urban Poverty, Residential Segregation, and Federal Housing Retrenchment, 1970–1995

In recent years, research on poverty and segregation has been organized within a dominant discourse that centers on the relative salience of racial discrimination or macroeconomic change as a determinant of concentrated minority poverty. In contrast, little sociological research has focused on federal housing policies and programs as important factors shaping racial patterns of poverty and residential segregation in U.S. metropolitan areas. Drawing upon census data, public documents, housing reports, and interviews with local residents, I examine how federal and local housing initiatives in the 1980s and 1990s have interacted with the shift to a service-oriented economy to reinforce racial residential segregation and exacerbate urban poverty in Kansas City. I find that persistent racial residential segregation, including minority poverty concentration and the spatial isolation of inner-city neighborhoods, is due to post-1970 changes in the operation of the metropolitan housing market and retrenchment in federal and local housing policy. Rather than viewing racial discrimination and macroeconomic change as disconnected and separate "variables," I focus on the interconnectedness and mutually reinforcing character of both factors. Such an emphasis moves beyond separate-variables approaches and analyses to identify how concentrated minority poverty is sustained not only by racial discrimination and large-scale macroeconomic and demographic changes, but also by the market-centered orientation of federal housing programs and policies.     

Racial Residential Segregation,Perceived Neighborhood Conditions,and Self-Rated Health: The Case of Houston,Texas

Previous research has linked racial residential segregation to a number of poor health outcomes. Yet, the mechanisms that could account for this association remain poorly understood and have seldom been empirically tested in the literature. In an analysis of the Houston area, we test one potential mechanism—perceived neighborhood conditions, as measured by two indices for neighborhood disorder and environmental quality. Using individual-level health data from a survey of Houston residents and neighborhood-level sociodemographic data from the U.S. Census, we estimate a series of multilevel models. We find that black and Latino segregation are linked to the perceived neighborhood disorder index, but no such relationship for the environmental quality index. Moreover, we find that both indices are related to poor self-rated health in that residents who evaluate their neighborhood conditions negatively are more likely to evaluate their health as poor. We also find a direct effect of black and Latino segregation on poor self-rated health, and that perceived neighborhood disorder partially mediates this relationship. We do not find a mediation effect for environmental quality. The results suggest that in order to improve the health of these communities, both residential segregation and neighborhood conditions need to be addressed.     

Residential segregation of West Indians in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area: the roles of race and ethnicity

"To assess the relative roles of race and ethnicity in shaping patterns of residential segregation, this article utilizes indices of segregation and a geographic mapping strategy to examine the residential patterns of West Indian blacks in the greater New York City area. The socioeconomic characteristics of neighborhoods occupied by West Indian blacks are also examined and compared to those of areas occupied by African Americans. The results indicate that, on one hand, West Indians are largely denied access to residential areas occupied predominantly by whites and are confined to areas of large black concentrations. On the other hand, West Indians appear to have carved out somewhat separate residential enclaves within these largely black areas...."     

THE COURSE OF RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION: Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Status, and Suburbanization in Israel

As is well documented, today, 40 years after the establishment of statehood, ethnicity figures importantly in determining educational and occupational attainment in Israel. The present study measures residential patterns to examine the relevance of ethnic differences in generating social distance.
Census data on the Jewish population and pairs of ethnic groups depict residential pattern changes in the central city and suburban ring for the largest metropolitan area, Tel Aviv, in 1972 and 1983. Segregation patterns are moderate in the central city, low in the suburban ring; in both localities, moreover, segregation declines during the decade studied. Although ethnicity significantly affects a group's separation, its relative importance declines. With Socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and other intervening variables controlled, Jewish ethnic groups' attainments significantly differ by locale: Suburban residence increases spatial assimilation.     

PUBLIC SCHOOL SEGREGATION AND JUVENILE VIOLENT CRIME ARRESTS IN METROPOLITAN AREAS

Previous research has established an association between residential segregation and violent crime in urban America. Our study examines whether school‐based segregation is predictive of arrests of juveniles for violent crimes in U.S. metro areas. Using Census, Uniform Crime Report, and Common Core data for 204 metro areas, a measure of school‐based racial segregation, Theil's entropy index, is decomposed into two components: between‐ and within‐district segregation. Findings reveal evidence of a significant interaction term: Within‐district segregation is inversely associated with arrests for juvenile violence, but only in metropolitan areas with higher than average levels of between‐district segregation.     

A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE ON RACIAL RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION:

This article takes a first step to compare the residential segregation of blacks and Asians from whites in American and Canadian cities. The analysis is based on census data from 404 American and 41 Canadian cities. African Americans in the United States experience a higher level of residential segregation than Asians in U.S. cities. On the other hand, blacks in Canada experience the same low level of segregation as Asians. To explain the different experiences of blacks in the United States and Canada, a multivariate model is proposed and tested. The results reveal several patterns. First, African Americans are consistently obstructed much more than Asian Americans by their proportion in the city. In contrast blacks in Canada are not. Second, the residential segregation patterns of African Americans are affected strongly by the labor market and strucutral changes of the economy in the city. However, the structural change of the economy in the city has a very weak effect on the level of residential segregation of Asian Americans, black Canadians, and Asian Canadians.     

Members Only: Gated Communities and Residential Segregation in the Metropolitan United States1

Using the American Housing Survey for 2001 and Census 2000, I examine the link between gated communities and residential segregation. I hypothesize that gating and segregation are defined by similar mechanisms, thus reinforcing urban inequality in U.S. cities. The results, however, indicate a more complex relationship. On the one hand, there are common mechanisms behind the two processes: the pursuit of higher property values, fear of crime, and fear of increased social heterogeneity. An increase in percent recent immigrants leads to higher levels of both segregation and gating. On the other hand, factors such as region, percent black, percent Hispanic, percent college graduates, and functional specialization affect the two processes differentially. Although segregation is less pronounced and declining in the U.S. urban Southwest, gated communities are much more prominent there. The results challenge the notion that the declines in residential segregation in recent decades indicate social progress.     

FROM OLD SOUTH TO NEW SOUTH? BLACK-WHITE RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION IN MICROPOLITAN AREAS

This article examines black-white residential segregation in micropolitan areas across the South. Micropolitan areas are newly defined urban clusters with a core population that ranges from 10,000 to 50,000. By shifting the focus to the nonmetropolitan South, we take debates about the “American dilemma” back to a historically important terrain of black-white relations that few scholars have systematically examined in the post-Civil Rights era. Using the most recent census, we find that the dynamics of residential segregation in our sample of micropolitan areas reflect both important opportunities and constraints. In contrast to their counterparts in metropolitan areas, blacks in the nonmetropolitan South face “only” moderate levels of segregation. Surprisingly, southern micropolitan areas afford greater opportunities for spatial assimilation to the least economically advantaged blacks as well as those who are more advantaged. Perhaps most importantly, this finding holds for micropolitan areas located in the historic Black Belt as well as elsewhere; however, several patterns emerge that suggest a set of barriers to spatial assimilation similar to those facing African Americans in metropolitan areas. In sum, our analysis clarifies the complexities of black-white segregation in the “New South/Old South,” pushing scholars to more systematically map the distinct trajectories of “American Apartheid” across time and place in the United States.     

The Unintended Significance of Race: Environmental Racial Inequality in Detroit

This article addresses shortcomings in the literature on environmental inequality by (a) setting forth and testing four models of environmental inequality and (b) explicitly linking environmental inequality research to spatial mismatch theory and to the debate on the declining significance of race. The explanatory models ask whether the distribution of blacks and whites around environmental hazards is the result of black/white income inequality, racist siting practices, or residential segregation. The models are tested using manufacturing facility and census data from the Detroit metropolitan area. It turns out that the distribution of blacks and whites around this region's polluting manufacturing facilities is largely the product of residential segregation which, paradoxically, has reduced black proximity to manufacturing facility pollution.     

The Segregation of Social Interactions in the Red Line L‐Train in Chicago

This study documents how residential segregation is visible in social interactions in the (semi) public space of the red line L‐train in Chicago. While public spaces are often celebrated as spaces of cosmopolitanism, people tend to interact mainly with people who look similar and appear to be living in the same area in Chicago. People of different race and class, represented by the station where they board the train, do not encounter each other much in the L‐train because of the existing residential segregation in the city of Chicago. Blacks ride from the south to downtown while whites ride from the north to downtown. Different time frames are reserved for different people. Furthermore, on the train itself people prefer to be interacting with and sit next to people who appear alike; who seem to be from the same part of the city. Hence, I argue that social interactions on the subway are mainly an expression of geographical and social exclusion in the city. Residential segregation is visible in the “segregation of social interactions” in the red line L‐train. Consequently, while de jure segregation has been abolished in the 1960s in Chicago, segregating practices are still going on de facto in everyday life.     

Measures of Spatial Segregation

The measurement of residential segregation patterns and trends has been limited by a reliance on segregation measures that do not appropriately take into account the spatial patterning of population distributions. In this paper we define a general approach to measuring spatial segregation among multiple population groups. This general approach allows researchers to specify any theoretically based definition of spatial proximity desired in computing segregation measures. Based on this general approach, we develop a general spatial exposure/isolation index (̃*), and a set of general multigroup spatial evenness/clustering indices: a spatial information theory index (̃), a spatial relative diversity index (̃), and a spatial dissimilarity index (̃). We review these and previously proposed spatial segregation indices against a set of eight desirable properties of spatial segregation indices. We conclude that the spatial exposure/isolation index ̃*—which can be interpreted as a measure of the average composition of individuals' local spatial environments—and the spatial information theory index ̃—which can be interpreted as a measure of the variation in the diversity of the local spatial environments of each individual—are the most conceptually and mathematically satisfactory of the proposed spatial indices.