Blacks and Hispanics in urban America: Similar patterns of residential segregation?

Studies of residential segregation of Blacks and Hispanics in United States' metropolitan areas over recent decades have suggested a convergence between the two groups, as Black segregation levels declined somewhat, whilst those for Hispanics have increased substantially. The latter has been associated with the rapid and very substantial growth in the Hispanic population. To some considerable extent, those changes have been taking place in different parts of the US. Many of the metropolitan areas experiencing major increases in their Hispanic populations contain relatively few Blacks; and the changes have varied considerably across the country. So are similar processes in operation? Are the same characteristics associated with high levels of segregation for each ethnic group? Regression analyses of data for 1980 and 2000, and for changes between those two dates, suggest that they are: that the size of a minority group - both absolute and as a percentage of the metropolitan population - is significantly linked to segregation levels and changes in them. There is clear convergence taking place, reflecting increasing segregation among recently-arrived Hispanics and some desegregation among Blacks. This is consistent with general models of residential segregation, even if they are occurring in different parts of the country. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.