Individual-level analysis of neighborhood integration dynamics

• In Event: Studying Integrated Spaces and the Policies that Support Them

Abstract

Researchers have used aggregate Census data to document the gradual desegregation of metropolitan areas and the emergence of stable neighborhood racial integration. Yet, we generally do not know who is moving to integrated neighborhoods, their duration of tenure, where individuals in these neighborhoods move from or to, and what drives this mobility. Knowing these details is crucial for understanding the drivers of neighborhood integration and its long term prospects. We use individual-level records from consumer information data along with decennial Census data and five-year ACS estimates spanning 2000-2020 to assess granular mobility dynamics contributing to neighborhood integration. Specifically, we examine and compare the duration of tenure in integrated and segregated neighborhoods. We also examine where residents of integrated neighborhoods move to and from based on origin neighborhood conditions. Finally, we test different determinants of mobility into and out of integrated neighborhoods. Our preliminary results indicate that individuals remain in transitioning neighborhoods (i.e., integrated to segregated and segregated to integrated) for longer periods than in static neighborhoods (i.e., always integrated and always segregated). We also find that individuals moving out of integrated neighborhoods are more likely to move into other integrated neighborhoods than segregated neighborhoods. Finally, our results reveal that individuals moving to integrated neighborhoods are more likely to come from other integrated neighborhoods that are also moderately poor and majority non-White. In future analyses, we will examine mobility dynamics into subsets of integrated neighborhoods, especially newly integrated neighborhoods. We will also test a number of factors that we suspect drive these mobility dynamics, including overall housing affordability, the stock of subsidized, below-market rate housing, and measures of school quality. Our findings will build upon empirical tabulations of integrated and segregated neighborhoods to demystify the processes that give rise to these different neighborhood settings. 

Authors

• Matthew Mleczko, Marquette University
  Non-Presenting Co-Author

• Laura R Sullivan, Cornell University
  Presenting Author