CHANGES IN THE SEGREGATION OF WHITES FROM BLACKS DURING THE 1980S - SMALL STEPS TOWARD A MORE INTEGRATED SOCIETY

Residential segregation between blacks and whites persists in urban Am erica. However evidence from the 1990 Census suggests that peak segreg ation levels were reached in the past. We evaluate segregation pattern s in 1990 and trends in segregation between 1980 and 1990 for the 232 U.S. metropolitan areas with substantial black populations. We review the historical forces that intensified segregation for much of the twe ntieth century, and identify key developments after 1960 that challeng ed institutionalized segregation. The results suggest that the modest declines in segregation observed during the 1970s continued through th e 1980s. While segregation decreased in most metropolitan areas, the m agnitude of these changes was uneven. Testing hypotheses developed fro m an ecological model, we find that the lowest segregation levels in 1 990 and the largest percentage decreases in segregation scores between 1980 and 1990 occurred in young, southern and western metropolitan ar eas with significant recent housing construction. Because the black po pulation continues to migrate to such areas, residential segregation b etween blacks and whites should decline further but remain well above that for Hispanics or Asians.