Explaining the Paradox of Puerto Rican Segregation

Abstract

Previous research has shown that Puerto Ricans are highly segregated from nonHispanic whites and moderately segregated from blacks, with socioeconomic factors having no effect on these patterns. These findings are opposite those observed for other Hispanic groups and contradict the fundamental tenets of ecological theory. This paper explains these anomalous patterns and brings results for Puerto Ricans into conformity with prior theory and research on residential segregation. The Puerto Rican anomaly stems from their very low SES and their black ancestry. Low social status leads directly to high segregation, while a high percent of blacks among Puerto Ricans draws them strongly towards residence near nonHispanic blacks. Since Anglos avoid living near blacks, Puerto Ricans become bystander victims of Anglos' racial prejudice, leading to their residential segregation in society. Several observers have noted the paradoxical nature of Puerto Rican residential segregation in New York City. Kantrowitz (a) pointed out that, unlike other ethnic groups, Puerto Ricans have a relatively low degree of spatial separation from blacks, but are highly segregated from native whites. His findings were echoed by those of Rosenberg and Lake, who found that Puerto Rican segregation did not fit either the assimilation model, derived from the presumed experience of European ethnics, or the ecological model of invasion and succession, which described the black experience. Specifically, Puerto Rican segregation did not decline as social distance from Anglos1 lessened, but on the other hand it was not based on an underlying process of rapid residential turnover either. In subsequent research, Massey (b,c,d) confirmed the existence of a distinctly Puerto Rican segregation pattern, one characterized by an unusually high degree