NEIGHBORHOOD SELECTION AND RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION

Residential segregation has long been a topic of investigation for urban scholars. In attempting to understand this phenomenon, most researchers have examined the characteristics of different residential neighborhoods (typically census tracts) and have often compared the composition of the population within the census tract over time. This study looks at the household characteristics of the mobile family, as well as the aggregate characteristics of the census tract into which the family moves. The findings reveal that households display a tendency to move to areas where the existing population has characteristics similar to their own. A multiple logit analysis reveals that the race/ethnicity of the household is generally the best predictor of the neighborhood where the household will move. Copyright © 1991, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved