PRISMATIC METROPOLIS - RACE AND RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION IN THE CITY OF THE ANGELS

Most major urban areas remain segregated by race, especially in terms of black segregation from whites. We replicate and extend the innovati ve approach developed by Farley and colleagues for understanding proce sses of racial residential segregation with data collected in Los Ange les. Using a large (N = 4025) multiracial sample of adults, we examine (1) actual and perceived differences in economic status, (2) mutual p reference for same race neighbors, and (3) racial prejudice and discri mination as hypotheses for the persistence of residential segregation. With a systematic experimental design we gauge respondent openness to living in areas with varying proportions of black, white, Latino, or Asian neighbors. We find no support for actual or perceived cost of ho using as a barrier to integration. Although all groups exhibit some de gree of ethnocentric preference for same race neighbors, this tendency is strongest among whites rather than blacks and plays only a small r ole in perpetuating segregation. Blacks face the greatest hostility in the search for housing and are consensually recognized as most likely to face discrimination in the housing market. Racial minorities are m ore open to sharing residential space with whites than with other mino rities. We and generally higher rates of openness to integration than Farley and colleagues found in their recent Detroit survey. (C) 1996 A cademic Press, Inc.