Racial Attraction or Racial Avoidance in American Suburbs?

The principle of homophily is central to several social-science theories. When applied to the study of population change in geographic areas, these theories predict racial homogeneity in residential settlement patterns. The concentration of one group in an area is expected to attract same-group memb...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Social forces 1998-12, Vol.77 (2), p.541-565
Main Authors:	Hwang, Sean-Shong, Murdock, Steve H.
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	African Americans Asians Black identity Cities Communities Cultures and civilizations Demographic change Ethnic Groups Ethnic minorities Ethnic relations. Racism Ethnicity Group size Hispanics Homogeneity Logan, John R Massey, Douglas S Minority & ethnic groups Minority groups Neighborhoods Park, Robert Population composition Population dynamics Population growth Race discrimination Race identity Race Relations Racial Segregation Regression analysis Residential Segregation Settlement Patterns Social aspects Social research Sociology Suburban areas Suburbs U.S.A United States United States of America Urban Affairs USA
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Summary:	The principle of homophily is central to several social-science theories. When applied to the study of population change in geographic areas, these theories predict racial homogeneity in residential settlement patterns. The concentration of one group in an area is expected to attract same-group members while deterring others. We examine this prediction using data on 1980-90 population change for four ethnic groups in 1,672 U.S. suburban cities. The findings from our analysis contradict the principle of homophily. For example, during the 1980s, black populations grew faster in those suburbs that had smaller, rather than larger, percentages of blacks. We explain these findings by spatial-assimilation and place-stratification models. Minority suburbanization is viewed as a process driven primarily by status rather than by ethnic considerations.
ISSN:	0037-7732 1534-7605