Concentrated Affluence, Segregation, and Boundaries in the Metropolitan South

• In Event: 34.050 - Boundaries and Borders: The Political and Social Context of Segregation and Spatial Inequality

Abstract

Political boundaries have historically been used to both segregate and integrate populations by social characteristics. Researchers have investigated the concentration of poverty, yet less attention has been given to the concentration of affluence, despite growing income segregation of the affluent from middle and low-income households. While the concentration of affluence may seem benign comparatively, there is reason to investigate processes of the concentration of affluence in the education context. Affluent and white enclave schools within diverse districts, through various mechanisms, have been shown to contribute to destabilizing desegregation. This study examines political boundaries and the concentration of affluence in two diverse metropolitan school districts through spatial analysis and an aspatial segregation index, exploring the link between boundaries and segregation processes.

Authors

• Kendra Taylor, The Pennsylvania State University

• Erica Frankenberg, The Pennsylvania State University