The residential segregation of detailed Hispanic and Asian groups in the United States: 1980-2010

Abstract

Background Racial and ethnic diversity continues to grow in communities across the United States, raising questions about the extent to which different ethnic groups will become residentially integrated. Objective While a number of studies have examined the residential patterns of pan-ethnic groups, our goal is to examine the segregation of several Asian and Hispanic ethnic groups – Cubans, Dominicans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Salvadorans, Asian Indians, Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Koreans, and Vietnamese. We gauge the segregation of each group from several alternative reference groups using two measures over the 1980 to 2010 period. Results We find that the dissimilarity of Hispanics and Asians from other groups generally held steady or declined, though, because most Hispanic and Asian groups are growing, interaction with Whites also often declined. Our analyses also indicate that pan-ethnic segregation indexes do not always capture the experience of specific groups. Among Hispanics, Mexicans are typically less residentially segregated (as measured using the dissimilarity index) from Whites, Blacks, Asians, and other Hispanics than are other Hispanic-origin groups. Among Asian ethnic groups, Japanese and Filipinos tend to have lower levels of dissimilarity from Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics than other Asian groups. Examining different dimensions of segregation also indicates that dissimilarity scores alone often do not capture to what extent various ethnic groups are actually sharing neighborhoods with each other. Finally, color lines vary across groups in some important ways, even as the dominant trend has been toward reduced racial and ethnic residential segregation over time. Conclusions The overarching trend is that ethnic groups are becoming more residentially integrated, suggestive of assimilation, though there is significant variation across ethnic groups.

Racialized Assimilation of Asian Americans

“…Finally, in contrast to the more commonly discussed patterns of moderate to low levels of Asian/white segregation, research on the segregation of Asian groups by national origin reveals a dramatically different pattern. In disaggregating the segregation patterns of Asian residents into individual patterns of segregation by nationality, both Logan & Zhang (2013) and Iceland et al (2014) find that, in fact, every group, with the exception of the Japanese, is more segregated from white residents than the aggregate Asian/white segregation levels would suggest. To put these findings in better perspective, a comparison with other major racial/ethnic groups reveals stark contrasts to the current consensus: Vietnamese residents have segregation levels on a par with African Americans, whereas groups with Chinese and Indian origins (the two largest nationalities) show levels of segregation on a par with Hispanics (Logan & Zhang 2013).…”

“…Overall, most research indicates that Asians remain the least segregated of the major racial/ethnic groups, with segregation levels remaining stable or slightly increasing since 1980 (Hall et al 2010, Iceland 2004, Iceland et al 2014, Logan & Zhang 2013, Xie & Goyette 2004. In general, researchers have largely explained these trends through the framework of the classic spatial assimilation model, which predicts increased integration and suburbanization for immigrant groups with socioeconomic and acculturation gains (Charles 2003, Logan & Alba 1995, Logan et al 1996, Massey 1985.…”

Neighbourhood racial/ethnic composition and segregation and trajectories of cognitive decline among US older adults

“…The isolation index is measured at a higher geographical level (county) and, unlike group composition, is specifically designed to capture the concentration of a group within specific neighbourhoods of the larger geographical region 27. One consequence of this difference is that the isolation index provides a more direct measure of racial enclaves than composition.…”

A Spatially Explicit Approach to the Study of Socio- Demographic Inequality in the Spatial Distribution of Trees across Boston Neighborhoods

“…First, Boston is a racially, ethnically and socio-economically diverse city. Additionally, over the past three decades, Boston has consistently ranked as one of the top metropolitan areas in the US with a high degree of residential segregation (Logan and Stults 2011; Iceland et al, 2002). This is based on several measures of segregation including the dissimilarity index (Duncan and Duncan, 1955), the most commonly used measure of segregation that measures the relative distributions across neighborhoods within a city (or metropolitan area) between two racial/ethnic groups (Logan and Stults 2011; Iceland et al, 2002).…”

“…Additionally, over the past three decades, Boston has consistently ranked as one of the top metropolitan areas in the US with a high degree of residential segregation (Logan and Stults 2011; Iceland et al, 2002). This is based on several measures of segregation including the dissimilarity index (Duncan and Duncan, 1955), the most commonly used measure of segregation that measures the relative distributions across neighborhoods within a city (or metropolitan area) between two racial/ethnic groups (Logan and Stults 2011; Iceland et al, 2002). Specifically, in terms of Black-White segregation in the 50 metropolitan areas with the largest Black populations in 2010, the Boston-Quincy metropolitan area ranked eleventh and it ranked fourth in terms of Hispanic-White segregation in the 50 metropolitan areas with the largest Hispanic populations in 2010 (Logan and Stults, 2011).…”