The Relationship between Urban Diversity and Residential Segregation

Abstract

Racial diversity was found to be related to racial residential segregation and strongly related to racial isolation within the nation’s metropolitan and micropolitan areas at the block group level. However, the relationships were both complex and dependent on the racial group. Racial diversity was assessed for all 927 metropolitan and micropolitan areas as opposed to just the largest fifty or the largest one hundred. Racial segregation and isolation were assessed at the block group level (excluding water and zero population block groups), not the census tract level, within each metro/micro area. The eight non-overlapping racial groups as defined by the U.S. Census were used. Racial diversity was measured with the Diversity Index (the Simpson Index). Racial residential segregation was measured with the pairwise Dissimilarity Index (D) and the Multigroup Dissimilarity Index (DG) as it was initially proposed using expected frequencies. Racial isolation was measured with the Isolation Index (P*).