Income Segregation Research Articles

Transit access and neighborhood segregation. Evidence from the Dallas light rail system

I study the effect of transit access on neighborhood incomes by exploiting a quasi-experimental setting of an extensively planned, but only partially built urban rail system in Dallas. I show that neighborhood income in census tracts that received rail access increases compared to neighborhoods that were promised to receive access, but did not due to funding cuts. The treatment effect is positively correlated with initial neighborhood income and negative for the poorest tracts. This reconciles gentrification and “poverty magnet” effects of rail infrastructure found in the earlier literature and highlights the role of transit as a potential incubator for income segregation.

Has Income Segregation Really Increased? Bias and Bias Correction in Sample-Based Segregation Estimates.

Several recent studies have concluded that residential segregation by income in the United States has increased in the decades since 1970, including a significant increase after 2000. Income segregation measures, however, are biased upward when based on sample data. This is a potential concern because the sampling rate of the American Community Survey (ACS)-from which post-2000 income segregation estimates are constructed-was lower than that of the earlier decennial censuses. Thus, the apparent increase in income segregation post-2000 may simply reflect larger upward bias in the estimates from the ACS, and the estimated trend may therefore be inaccurate. In this study, we first derive formulas describing the approximate sampling bias in two measures of segregation. Next, using Monte Carlo simulations, we show that the bias-corrected estimators eliminate virtually all of the bias in segregation estimates in most cases of practical interest, although the correction fails to eliminate bias in some cases when the population is unevenly distributed among geographic units and the average within-unit samples are very small. We then use the bias-corrected estimators to produce unbiased estimates of the trends in income segregation over the last four decades in large U.S. metropolitan areas. Using these corrected estimates, we replicate the central analyses in four prior studies on income segregation. We find that the primary conclusions from these studies remain unchanged, although the true increase in income segregation among families after 2000 was only half as large as that reported in earlier work. Despite this revision, our replications confirm that income segregation has increased sharply in recent decades among families with children and that income inequality is a strong and consistent predictor of income segregation.

Neighbourhood effects and beyond: Explaining the paradoxes of inequality in the changing American metropolis

American cities today are simultaneously the same and different from Wilson’s classic portrayal in The Truly Disadvantaged ([1987] 2012), first published over 30 years ago. Concentrated poverty and racial segregation endure, as do racial gaps in multiple aspects of wellbeing. But mass incarceration, the dramatic drop in violent crime, immigration, rising income segregation, the suburbanisation of poverty, and other macrosocial trends have transformed the urban scene. The paradoxical result is that cities today are both better and worse off. In this paper, I put forth a unifying framework on persistence and change in urban inequality, highlighting a theory of neighbourhood effects and the higher-order structure of the contemporary metropolis. I apply this analytic framework to examine: (1) neighbourhood inequality as an important driver and mediator of urban transformation; (2) racial disparities across the life course in compounded deprivation, poisoned development, and intergenerational mobility; and (3) how everyday spatial mobility beyond the local neighbourhood is producing new forms of social isolation and higher-order segregation. I conclude with a challenge to dominant policy perspectives on urban racial inequality.

Neighbourhood inequality spillover effects of gentrification

AbstractPrevious research has considered how gentrification may alter the racial composition, income composition and income segregation within a neighbourhood. An increase in income segregation at the neighbourhood level may be evidenced by a reduction in income inequality, which may harm low‐income households. We examine how the influence of gentrification, with respect to changes in income inequality at the neighbourhood level over time, may spill over into surrounding neighbourhoods as lower‐income households' location choices change. We use data from the 30 largest Core Based Statistical Areas in the US from 2000–2010 and find that areas bordering newly gentrified neighbourhoods experience an increase in income inequality (potentially benefiting low‐income households). This effect appears to be concentrated in relatively smaller CBSAs, where lower‐income households may have less mobility, and in surrounding neighbourhoods that are themselves relatively lower‐income.

Errata

Previous article FreeErrataOriginal articleThe Uptick in Income Segregation: Real Trend or Random Sampling Variation?PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailQR Code SectionsMoreThe wrong version of “The Uptick in Income Segregation: Real Trend or Random Sampling Variation?” by John R. Logan, Andrew Foster, Jun Ke, and Fan Li was published in the July issue (124:185–222). After the article was accepted for publication, the authors found mistakes in the tables that required a revision of part of the text. The revised tables were printed, but because of a version control error on the part of AJS, the previous, now mismatched, text portion of the manuscript was used. While AJS has now posted the correct version of the article in PDF and HTML online at https://dx.doi.org/10.1086/697528, the print version of the journal cannot be altered. AJS regrets the error. Previous article DetailsFiguresReferencesCited by American Journal of Sociology Volume 124, Number 2September 2018 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/701143 © 2018 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.Related articlesThe Uptick in Income Segregation: Real Trend or Random Sampling Variation?27 Jun 2018American Journal of Sociology

The Federal Impact on Early Postwar Suburbanization

ABSTRACTResearchers agree that, in Canada and the United States, federal policy with respect to mortgage finance encouraged suburbanization in the early postwar period. However, direct evidence has been lacking. Unique mortgage file data for 1951 for two Canadian cities, Hamilton, Ontario, and Vancouver, British Columbia, make it possible to assess this claim, and related claims. They show that the impact of federal mortgage assistance was similar in direction in both cities, but much more striking in Hamilton: federal involvement encouraged suburbanization, reinforced existing broad patterns in the social geography of the city, and increased the amount of income segregation at the scale of specific neighborhoods and suburban subdivisions. The broad generalizations that previous researchers have made about the impact of federal mortgage policy are confirmed, but the magnitude of that impact could vary enormously and cannot be assumed in particular cases.

Local Information, Income Segregation, and Geographic Mobility

Abstract We develop a model of migration in the face of geographic information asymmetries. Firms from a given city observe whether or not a local worker is a member of a disadvantaged local community, a negative indicator of productivity, but do not have this information for migrants to this city. With this knowledge, workers must decide whether to migrate and obscure information about their community of origin. Our model generates results consistent with recent trends in intergenerational mobility and internal migration as well as new predictions about the relationship between migrant outcomes and income segregation. We confirm these predictions using data from the U.S. census.

Dissecting income segregation: Impacts of concentrated affluence on segregation of poverty

ABSTRACTThis article investigates how income inequality shapes residential segregation by income. Using agent-based modeling, it develops a residential preferences model that is capable of generating results mimicking empirical income segregation patterns. Simulation analysis shows how varying income inequality produces differential residential mobility outcomes that alter income segregation profiles. The model is used to capture the distinct impacts of households’ moves into richer or poorer neighborhoods, and how these impacts are further differentiated with respect to the moving household’s income. The article demonstrates how aggregating such diverse outcomes of micro-level interactions at a meso-level can help us to better understand the changes in macro-level income segregation patterns. Analyzing residential mobility patterns carefully, the article suggests that i) segregation of affluence and of poverty can trigger each other via initiating cascades of residential mobility and housing prices, and ii) increasing income inequality can disrupt housing market and lead to shortages in affordable housing, which can yield high residential instability and eviction rates among the poorest stratum.

Income segregation in monocentric and polycentric cities: Does urban form really matter?

We estimate the effect of urban spatial structure on income segregation in Brazilian cities between 2000 and 2010. Our results show that, first, local density conditions increase income segregation: the effect is higher in monocentric cities and smaller in polycentric ones. Second, the degree of monocentricity-polycentricity also affects segregation: while a higher concentration of jobs in and around the CBD decreases segregation in monocentric cities, a higher employment concentration in and around subcenters located far from the CBD decreases segregation in polycentric cities. Third, results are heterogeneous according to city size: local density does not increase segregation in small (monocentric) cities, it increases segregation in medium size cities, and it decreases segregation in large (polycentric) cities. Finally, results also differ between income groups: while local density conditions increase the segregation of the poor, a more polycentric configuration reduces the segregation of the rich.

Examining the Efficacy of Title VI Social Equity Analysis: A Comparative Case Study of Transit Access and Neighborhood Segregation Outcomes Over Time

An overarching question concerns why social inequity persists despite decades of policy intervention. For instance, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 mandated that agencies must not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, or national origin to receive federal funding. Transportation agencies were particularly impacted. They have since submitted equity analyses for every bus and rail expansion and/or reduction to verify they do not disproportionately impact minority and low-income communities. This study moves beyond a momentary analysis to examine the extent to which transit development has impacted communities of color from 1970–2010. Income segregation outcomes are examined in neighborhoods across four diverse metropolitan areas: Denver, Minneapolis, Birmingham, and Orlando. A fixed effects regression analysis illustrates mixed results. This study concludes by discussing what fairness looks like in neighborhoods when taking race and ethnicity into account. It suggests further consideration of Title VI as a tool to hold administrators accountable for social equity beyond single points in time.

Comment – Income segregation in cities: A reflection on the gap between concept and measurement

[eng] In his study of twelve French metropolises, Jean-Michel Floch argues that the level of segregation, defined as the spatial separation of groups with different living standards within cities, is higher, in the city‑centres as well as the suburbs than in the outer-suburbs. It is also more marked in the higher living standards. This commentary argues that income segregation in French cities is low for international standards. Based on issues around the measurement . and comparability of income segregation indices, it elaborates on three issues. The first is that, contrary to popular belief, the segregation of poverty contributes little to overall city segregation, while the segregation of affluence as a large contributor remains under-debated. The second is that an empirical or normative benchmark for segregation is needed to frame the discussion around “ too much” segregation. The third is that the actual degree of physical disconnection between income groups, and between income groups and city amenities and services, is not truly measured by current income segregation measures, limiting the usefulness of such measures for policy designs.

Income Segregation in Monocentric and Polycentric Cities: Does Urban Form Really Matter?

We estimate the effect of urban spatial structure on income segregation in Brazilian cities between 2000 and 2010. Our results show that, first, local density conditions increase income segregation: the effect is higher in monocentric cities and smaller in polycentric ones. Second, the degree of monocentricity-polycentricity also affects segregation: while a higher concentration of jobs in and around the CBD decreases segregation in monocentric cities, a higher employment concentration in and around subcenters located far from the CBD decreases segregation in polycentric cities. Third, results are heterogeneous according to city size: local density does not increase segregation in small (monocentric) cities, it increases segregation in medium size cities, and it decreases segregation in large (polycentric) cities. Finally, results also differ between income groups: while local density conditions increase the segregation of the poor, a more polycentric configuration reduces the segregation of the rich.

Residential Income Segregation: A Behavioral Model of the Housing Market

We represent the functioning of the housing market and study the relation between income segregation, income inequality and house prices by introducing a spatial Agent-Based Model (ABM). Differently from traditional models in urban economics, we explicitly specify the behavior of buyers and sellers and the price formation mechanism. Buyers who differ by income select among heterogeneous neighborhoods using a probabilistic model of residential choice; sellers employ an aspiration level heuristic to set their reservation offer price; prices are determined through a continuous double auction. We first provide an approximate analytical solution of the ABM, shedding light on the structure of the model and on the effect of the parameters. We then simulate the ABM and find that: (i) a more unequal income distribution lowers the prices globally, but implies stronger segregation; (ii) a spike of the demand in one part of the city increases the prices all over the city; (iii) subsidies are more efficient than taxes in fostering social mixing.

Income Segregation between School Districts and Inequality in Students’ Achievement

Large achievement gaps exist between high- and low-income students and between black and white students. This article explores one explanation for such gaps: income segregation between school districts, which creates inequality in the economic and social resources available in advantaged and disadvantaged students’ school contexts. Drawing on national data, I find that the income achievement gap is larger in highly segregated metropolitan areas. This is due mainly to high-income students performing better, rather than low-income children performing worse, in more-segregated places. Income segregation between districts also contributes to the racial achievement gap, largely because white students perform better in more economically segregated places. Descriptive portraits of the school districts of high- and low-income students show that income segregation creates affluent districts for high-income students while changing the contexts of low-income students negligibly. Considering income and race jointly, I find that only high-income white families live in the affluent districts created by income segregation; black families with identically high incomes live in districts more similar to those of low-income white families. My results demonstrate that the spatial inequalities created by income segregation between school districts contribute to achievement gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged students, with implications for future research and policy.

Are the walls giving way to fences? Is racial integration within Kwadukuza municipality leading to income-based class segregation?

The racial and development imbalances created by apartheid have made a profound impact on the urban and social landscape in South Africa. Despite it being 20 years into the dawn of a new South Africa, many parts of society are still bearing the brunt of the harsh impacts of apartheid. The first democratic elections in 1994 heralded a new era of hope and optimism for a better life in a racially integrated country. However 20 years into democracy, it is essential to monitor changes in integration. Literature suggests that, in the absence of legally enforced segregation as with apartheid, society will segregate itself on class or other factors. The purpose of this study is to measure whether the changes in racial integration are leading to class-based segregation in KwaDukuza, South Africa. The Neighbourhood Diversity Index was used to investigate how the racial patterns changed over the years and a Geographic Weighted Regression (GWR) model was used to determine if there is a relationship between racial integration and income that could explain transference from racial to classed-based segregation. The study found that low levels of racial integration have taken place but certain areas of the municipality have become increasingly segregated. The GWR model found a positive relationship between income and racial segregation in certain areas. This study further highlights that politicians, decision makers, and town and social planners face a long and socially demanding challenge in redressing past imbalances and promoting integration by breaking down the current trend of class-based segregation.

Structure and information in spatial segregation

Ethnoracial residential segregation is a complex, multiscalar phenomenon with immense moral and economic costs. Modeling the structure and dynamics of segregation is a pressing problem for sociology and urban planning, but existing methods have limitations. In this paper, we develop a suite of methods, grounded in information theory, for studying the spatial structure of segregation. We first advance existing profile and decomposition methods by posing two related regionalization methods, which allow for profile curves with nonconstant spatial scale and decomposition analysis with nonarbitrary areal units. We then formulate a measure of local spatial scale, which may be used for both detailed, within-city analysis and intercity comparisons. These methods highlight detailed insights in the structure and dynamics of urban segregation that would be otherwise easy to miss or difficult to quantify. They are computationally efficient, applicable to a broad range of study questions, and freely available in open source software.

Shaping Income Segregation in Schools: The Role of School Attendance Zone Geography

This study investigates how much the geographic shapes of school attendance zones contributes to their levels of income segregation while holding constant levels of income segregation across reside...

The Uptick in Income Segregation: Real Trend or Random Sampling Variation?

Recent studies have reported a reversal of an earlier trend in income segregation in metropolitan regions, from a decline in the 1990s to an increase in the 2000-2010 decade. This finding reinforces concerns about the growing overall income inequality in the U.S. since the 1970s. Yet the evidence may be systematically biased to show an upward trend because the effective sample for the American Community Survey (ACS) is much smaller than it was for Census 2000, to which it is being compared. There is a possibility that the apparent changes in disparities across census tracts result partly from a higher level of sampling variation and bias due to the smaller sample. This study uses 100% microdata from the 1940 census to simulate the impact of different sampling rates on estimates of several measures of segregation and to propose and test the effectiveness of approaches to correcting the bias. It then applies those approaches to publicly available data for 2000 and 2007-2011. The reduction in sample sizes associated with the ACS results in exaggeration of evidence for increasing income segregation for all measures tested here, especially for subgroups (African Americans are studied here as an example). The methods of correction applied here will yield more conclusive and unbiased results when applied to the original sample data that is held internally by the Census Bureau.

Pulling Back the Curtain: Intra-District School Spending Inequality and Its Correlates

Despite concerns about funding inequities between schools within districts, data constraints have limited large-scale analyses of intra-district inequality in the United States. We use new school-level finance data to calculate measures of vertical inequality for nearly all U.S. districts. Using independent high-quality data sources, we validate the school-level data and the resulting inequality measures. We find that poor and minority students on average receive 1 to 2 percent more resources than nonpoor and white students in the same district; however, between 29 to 44 percent of districts under-allocate resources to disadvantaged students. Districts that under-allocate resources to poor students relative to nonpoor students tend to be poorer and have less income segregation. Districts that under-allocate resources to minority students relative to white students tend to have smaller racial income gaps, less racial segregation, and (when it comes to under-allocation to black students) larger white student populations.

Linking urban sprawl and income segregation – Findings from a stylized agent-based model

Urban sprawl and income segregation are two undesired urban patterns that occur during urban development. Empirical studies show that income level and inequality are positively correlated with urban sprawl and income segregation, respectively. However, the relationship between urban sprawl and income segregation is not only rarely investigated but also shows ambiguous empirical results when it is. Therefore, in this study, we built a stylized agent-based model with individual behaviours based on Alonso’s bid rent theory and ran simulations with different combinations of income level and income inequality. We measured the overall emergent patterns with indicators for urban sprawl and income segregation. The model confirms the established positive correlations between income level and urban sprawl and between income inequality and segregation. Furthermore, the model shows a negative correlation between urban sprawl and income segregation under free market conditions. The model indicates that without any policy implementation, a city will either suffer from urban sprawl or income segregation. Thus, this study serves as a starting point to study the effects of different urban planning policies on these two urban problems.