PLACE-NOT-RACE - THE INADEQUACY OF GEOGRAPHY TO ADDRESS RACIAL DISPARITIES

Emerging in policy disputes concerning affirmative action for non-Angl os is the notion of substituting geographic ''place'' for ''race'' as the principal standard for distributing social policy dollars to devel op poverty-stricken urban non-Angle populations. Through demographic a nalysis at progressively smaller geographic scales this article shows that proposition that ''place'' can be the sole criterion for governme nt policies designed to relieve urban non-Angle poverty is problematic . Place-based programs do not take into account the racial diversity o f impoverished areas, thereby diminishing the ability to target non-An gle populations. Nor do they take into account the differing economic and educational profiles of racial groups in an impoverished area whic h tend to disproportionately distribute a place-based program's opport unities in favor of Anglos.