The Roles of Race, Class, and Residential Preferences in the Neighborhood Racial Composition of Middle‐Class Blacks and Whites^*

Abstract

Objective. This analysis extends the residential attainment literature by examining the neighborhood racial composition of middle-class blacks and whites while controlling for residential preferences. Methods. Using the Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality and 1990 Census data, the spatial assimilation and place stratification theories of locational attainment are tested. Results. As in previous research, support is shown for both theories; for blacks, stronger human capital characteristics translate into neighborhoods that are less racially segregated. However, even when middle-class blacks prefer to live in integrated neighborhoods, on average, they live in neighborhoods that are about 60 percent black and 30 percent white, while middle-class whites who prefer to live in integrated neighborhoods reside in neighborhoods that, on average, are 10 percent black and 85 percent white. Conclusions. Although incorporating residential preferences into models that predict neighborhood racial composition proves important, the relative inability of middleclass blacks to implement their preferences indicates powerful social forces that maintain ''American apartheid.'' There is debate among scholars about the role of residential preferences in maintaining residential segregation and stratification. On the one hand, certain scholars contend that it is the residential preferences of whites and blacks (as well as members of other racial and ethnic groups) that maintain the segregated environments of American metropolitan areas (e.g.,

Inter-neighborhood Migration and Spatial Assimilation in a Multi-ethnic World: Comparing Latinos, Blacks and Anglos

“…In general, these studies find that high-SES racial and ethnic groups are less segregated than low-SES groups from non-Hispanic whites, but that this effect is weaker among African Americans than among other minority groups. Roughly similar findings emerge from cross-sectional, individual-level models of minority locational attainment (Adelman 2005;Logan, Alba, and Yeung 1996). Of course, cross-sectional studies of the effect of income on locational attainment are likely hampered by the endogeneity of individual SES to neighborhood racial composition.…”

Racial Composition of Neighborhood and Emotional Well-Being

“…However, even though racial preferences are related to local housing market attainment, Blacks who prefer a more integrated neighborhood are less able to translate their preferences into reality, suggesting the role of discrimination in this process (Adelman 2005).…”

“…No matter what the underlying cause (and these potential causes are not necessarily mutually exclusive), the result is that most people live in areas that are racially isolated (Adelman 2005) and often even prefer majority same-race neighborhoods over integrated neighborhoods (Clark 1992;Krysan and Farley 2002;Zubrinsky and Bobo 1996). Although this debate presents alternative explanations, both sides indicate that race is a central division in the United States.…”

Panethnicity and Ethnic Resources in Residential Integration: A Comparative Study of Two Host Societies

“…The data do not permit us to distinguish whether ethnic retention or place stratification is operating on the residential processes of these groups. However, research on residential preferences suggests an interaction of in-group tendencies and social distance are likely to be part of the explanation and that racial stratification is more likely to be operating on US patterns (Adelman 2005;Charles 2003;Fong 1994;Krysan and Farley 2002).…”