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. 2009 Sep 1;45(1):25-65.
doi: 10.1177/1078087408331119.

Quantifying Separate and Unequal: Racial-Ethnic Distributions of Neighborhood Poverty in Metropolitan America

Theresa L Osypuk  1 , Sandro Galea, Nancy McArdle, Dolores Acevedo-Garcia
Affiliations

Quantifying Separate and Unequal: Racial-Ethnic Distributions of Neighborhood Poverty in Metropolitan America

Theresa L Osypuk et al. Urban Aff Rev Thousand Oaks Calif. .

Abstract

Researchers measuring racial inequality of neighborhood environment across metropolitan areas (MAs) have traditionally employed segregation measures, yet such measures are limited for incorporating a third axis of information, including neighborhood opportunity. Using Census 2000 tract-level data for the largest U.S. MAs, we introduce the interquartile-range overlap statistic to summarize the substantial separation of entire distributions of neighborhood environments between racial groups. We find neighborhood poverty distributions for minorities overlap only 27% with those for whites. Further, the separation of racial groups into neighborhoods of differing poverty rates is strongly correlated with racial residential segregation. The overlap statistic provides a straightforward, policy-relevant metric for monitoring progress towards achieving more equal environments of neighborhood opportunity space.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Illustration of the IQR Overlap Statistic of Neighborhood Poverty for 3 Hypothetical Metro Areas.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Boxplots: Metropolitan Distributions (IQRs) of Neighborhood Poverty, for total population and by racial/ethnic group.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Boxplots: Metropolitan Distributions (IQRs) of Neighborhood Poverty, for total population and by racial/ethnic group.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Boxplots: Metropolitan Distributions (IQRs) of Neighborhood Poverty, for total population and by racial/ethnic group.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Boxplots: Metropolitan Distributions (IQRs) of Neighborhood Poverty, for total population and by racial/ethnic group.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Density Graphs: Distributions of Neighborhood Poverty by Race/Ethnicity, 100 Largest MAs. NOTE: We used kernel density estimation with a Gaussean smoothing kernel: a smoothing technique to estimate the relative probabilities of each neighborhood poverty value.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Density Graphs: Distributions of Neighborhood Poverty by Race/Ethnicity, 100 Largest MAs. NOTE: We used kernel density estimation with a Gaussean smoothing kernel: a smoothing technique to estimate the relative probabilities of each neighborhood poverty value.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Density Graphs: Distributions of Neighborhood Poverty by Race/Ethnicity, 100 Largest MAs. NOTE: We used kernel density estimation with a Gaussean smoothing kernel: a smoothing technique to estimate the relative probabilities of each neighborhood poverty value.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Boxplots: White and Minority Group IQR Overlap of Neighborhood Poverty for 100 Largest MAs, ranked by the IQR-OS.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Boxplots: White and Minority Group IQR Overlap of Neighborhood Poverty for 100 Largest MAs, ranked by the IQR-OS.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Acevedo-Garcia D, Osypuk TL, Krimgold B. Metropolitan Report Cards: How Well are Different Urban Areas Providing Quality of Life for Americans of Color? Harvard Civil Rights Project Color Lines Conference Working Paper. The President and Fellows of Harvard College; Cambridge, MA: 2003.
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