A Research Note on Residential Succession: The Hispanic Case

Abstract

Sociologists have long held that residential segregation results from an underlying process of ecological succession. According to the ecological model, residential succession begins with the entry of a minority group into some area occupied by majority members. Following invasion, there is a period of consolidation during which the population of original inhabitants declines while that of the incoming minority grows. Eventually the invading minority displaces former residents entirely to form an established ethnic neighborhood. This model has been applied with great success to depict the dynamics of black-white segregation in U.S. cities. Given rapid rates of black population growth and a slowly growing white population, residential succession predominates to the point that each interracial area can be classified according to its stage in the succession process. Although the ecological model was originally formulated with ethnic immigrants in mind, it has never been directly applied to such groups. This paper directly examines residential succession for one large ethnic group, Hispanics, and contrasts patterns with those observed for blacks.