Measuring and Comparing Ethnic Segregation in Cities drawn from Douglas Massey and Nancy Denton American Apartheid

Indices Index of segregation  Calculate the percentage of A population that would have to move in order to even out the ratio of A to B among all the districts Index of isolation  Calculate the ratio of A to B that is experienced in the surrounding district by every member of A, then calculate the average

Index of Segregation (of reds) 0% 40% 80% 2/5 8/10

Index of Isolation (of reds) 33% 50% 49.2% 83.7% [(3x60)+(2x33.33)] / 5 [(8x100)+(1x20)+(1x16.7)] / 10

Notes on indices Both vary from 0 to 100 Both are generally above 60 when cities are fairly strongly segregated Index of segregation is high if there is segregation, regardless of the absolute number of people in a minority population Index of isolation may be low when a minority is very small, even if it is strongly segregated Index of segregation is the best means of comparing between populations and cities Index of isolation is more reflective of the experience of the racial isolation/mixture in cities

History of segregation in the US:1 Was ethnic segregation in American cities stronger or weaker at the start of the 20 th c.?  Weaker Where did most of America’s black population live at this time?  In the South  On farms  Sharecroppers  Oppression took the form of debt peonage, vagrancy laws, etc.

Consequences of the Great Migration Black Population Trends 1890s1960s Southern90.3%10% Rural90%5% Northern9.7%90% Urban10%95% Source: Dr. Stanley K. Schultz, UW-Madison,

History of Segregation in the US: 2  Blockbusting  quietly buy up properties in areas that resist integration then install black renters and owners en masse  scare residents with predictions of an invasion and appear to be the savior who has come to bail them out  buy cheap  sell expensive  target people who are likely to default on their loans so you can re-sell the same property  subdivide buildings and greatly increase the residential density so as to maximize profits  lure in the most successful black families early, then make more money off them when they become surrounded by a new ghetto and want to move again

History of Segregation in the US: 3 For other responses to Great Migration see previous presentation After WWII, all forms of “fight” were replaced by “flight” in the form of white suburbanization. What encouraged this?  new technologies automobile balloon frame house  federal assistance Federal Aid Highway Act (FAHA) 1956 Federal Housing Authority (FHA loans) Veterans Administration (VA loans)