The Intergenerational Reproduction of Multiethnic Residential Integration

Abstract

The long run viability of stable multiethnic residential integration is perennially in question. This study compares the intergenerational reproduction of racially segregated residential contexts to the reproduction of multiethnic contexts to provide new insight into the social processes that influence residential integration. The data for this study come from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the U.S. Census. Conditional logit models analyze patterns of residential reproduction and mobility for white and black families across a comprehensive typology of racially segregated and integrated neighborhoods. The results provide some support for the premise of a “diversity effect,” that children raised in integrated settings are more likely to attain diverse neighborhood environments in adulthood. The results also demonstrate a far stronger propensity to reproduce predominantly white and predominantly black neighborhood contexts than multiethnic contexts. The comparative ease through which racially segregated contexts are reproduced presents a challenge to the future growth and stability of multiethnic residential integration. The implications for theories of spatial incorporation that frame debates about race and ethnic relations are discussed.