Housing segregation by gentrification in US Research Paper

Housing segregation by gentrification in US - Research Paper Example d the gentrification displaced low-income residents and forced them into even worse housing thus, reversing white-flight while having no impact at all, or an even further negative impact on segregated neighborhoods. However, recent research has indicated that this simple explanation of the impacts of gentrification on segregation is inadequate and the impacts of gentrification on segregation are actually more varied. The term segregation, in terms of housing, refers to residential enclaves that are defined by ethnicity and possibly some other socio-economic indicators. Hyper-segregated neighborhoods are residential areas that are defined by multiple indicators of segregation. Massey asserts that five key dimensions indicate residential segregation. The degree to which the percentage of minority members within a residential area diverges from the metropolitan average indicates segregation on the evenness scale. Lack of opportunities for potential contact with non-minority individuals indicates segregation on the exposure scale. The degree to which minority neighbourhoods are adjacent indicates clustering. The degree to which these areas are focused in the urban core indicates centralization while increasing population density indicates concentration. (Massey and Denton, 1993, p 373) Massey and Denton employ these five indicators--evenness, exposure, clustering, centralization and concentration--to measure segregation. They describe high scores in at least four of these categories as hyper-segregation or extreme, multidimensional segregation. They conclude that multidimensional hyper-segregation is evident in at least ten metropolitan areas and affects at least 30% of all urban blacks. Denton and Massey focus on residential segregation alone, they do not directly investigate its inks to economic factors. However, in conclusion, they state that "our results suggest that the extremity of black residential segregation and its unique multidimensional character may