Elaine Beebe, Communications Manager, US2010
ebeebe@brown.edu | (401) 863-6323 | http://www.s4.brown.edu/us2010/
David Haproff, Communications Director, Russell Sage Foundation
david@rsage.org | (212) 750-6037 | http://www.russellsage.org/
Nov. 16, 2011 – From 2000 to 2007, family income segregation grew significantly in 104 of the nation’s 117 largest metropolitan areas (those with population more than 500,000).
And between 1970 and 2007, family income segregation doubled, according to a research brief released today by the US2010 project. Download it here: http://www.s4.brown.edu/us2010/Projects/Reports.htm.
“Income segregation” refers to the extent to which high- and low-income families within a metropolitan area live near one another.
“The growth in income segregation over the last four decades is quite substantial, particularly given that racial segregation has declined slowly during the same time period,.” said Sean Reardon, a professor at Stanford University, who co-authored the study with Kendra Bischoff, a Stanford postdoctoral fellow.
“Increasing income segregation means not only that low-income families are increasingly concentrated in poor neighborhoods, but also that high-income families are increasingly isolated from middle- and low-income families,” Reardon said. “This isolation of the rich may make it less likely that they support policies and public investments that are beneficial to everyone, such as schools, parks, and public services.”
For data on the nation’s 380 metro areas, see http://www.s4.brown.edu/us2010/Data/Data.htm. The report’s findings include:
Contact Sean Reardon at (650) 736-8517 (office), (617) 251-4782 (cell), sean.reardon@stanford.edu (email).
US2010 is a program of research on changes in American society in the recent past, with the expertise of a nationwide team of scholars who were brought together for this purpose. For more information, see the project webpage: www.s4.brown.edu/us2010.
Supported by the Russell Sage Foundation and Brown University, US2010 project will culminate with a 14-chapter book published by Russell Sage, which has a 50-year tradition of publishing respected, authoritative, census-based research.