Chicago: The Most Segregated City in the Country
America overall is more integrated than ever, and all-white neighborhoods are virtually extinct. Gentrification, immigration, migration to the suburbs, and the tearing down of public housing all have contributed to desegregation over the past decade. However, there are still areas of the country that remain highly segregated.
According to a recent report by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, although Chicago has seen the second largest decrease in segregation among the ten biggest cities, next only to Houston, Texas, it is still the most racially segregated city in America.
The study uses census data and two key measures to discuss segregation. First the report examines “isolation,” which measures the tendency of members of a racial group to dominate a neighborhood. The report also measures “dissimilarity,” which is the evenness of the distribution of two racial groups across an area. Chicago’s difficulty lies in the fact that it has historically isolated African-American neighborhoods that are very rarely integrated because, unlike other neighborhoods, they are not experiencing population growth or the influx of new housing.
While segregation may be decreasing since its peak in the 1960s, racial income and asset inequality still persists and is actually growing. According to a recent Pew Study, the median wealth of white households is 20 times that of black households and 18 times that of Hispanic households. This is the largest racial wealth gap since the government began publishing the data 25 years ago. In fact, the gap has doubled since the 2008 recession. Prior to the recession, in 2005, Hispanics had $18,359 in net worth (assets minus debts), African-Americans had $12,124, and whites had $134,992. After the recession, the net worth for Hispanics and African-Americans fell dramatically, while white families were left unscathed. In 2009, the average white family had $113,149 in net worth compared to $6,325 for Hispanics and $5,677 for African-Americans.
Tom Shapiro of Brandeis University, who has studied the racial wealth gap for years, says he's concerned about the long-term impact. He thinks the wealth gap will likely grow even more, unless the economy turns around soon. Not only does the economy need a boost, but so do government policies that create barriers for minorities’ financial stability and mobility. As the Manhattan Institute’s report notes, access to credit and fair housing laws significantly contribute to a city’s segregation patterns. Government programs and policies that increase access to credit and bank accounts, as well as policies that encourage saving and diversified asset holdings will eradicate segregation. During the recession, white families, whose assets were diversified, were relatively safe compared to minority families, whose assets were mainly concentrated in the housing market, which crashed. Clearly, the racial wealth gap is still prevalent in cities across America, and there is much to be done to begin to close it. Changing government policies and creating asset building opportunities for everyone is an important first step.
Check the Shriver Brief for more coverage on access to credit, fair housing laws and closing the racial wealth gap.
This blog post was coauthored by Alison Terkel.
