Segregation and Detroit - Essay Example

Segregation and Detroit Geographical segregation can be described as spatial concentration of particular groups of population (Massey and Denton, 1998). In simple terms, it is segregation of groups of population into different geographical areas (Jackson, 1985) based on a number of variables such as race, income, ethnic origin, immigrant status and so on. Traditionally, geographic segregation is based on race/ethnicity, social status and gender, but in the modern world, it also happens based on sexual preferences (Massey and Denton, 1998). Even though the American administrators have taken a number of steps to eliminate segregation by means of integration, geographical segregation continues to exist. This study takes a look at the concept of segregation and its implication in the city of Detroit. By taking a look at the history of segregation in Detroit, the study also tries to understand the segregation patterns and the current day scenario of segregation in the city. Geographical/Residential Segregation As mentioned earlier, geographic segregation or more appropriately, residential segregation is the level or extend to which particular groups reside separately from one another, in a particular geographic area such as a city or state (Low, 2004). Segregation, in itself, is a complex phenomenon, where the groups are segregated in a number of ways. For example, people from a minority community reside in such a way that they are often overrepresented in some particular areas and underrepresented in some others (Yinger, 2001). In addition, the same community may be residing in such a manner that their exposure to the other groups is minimized (Yinger, 2001). Similarly, particular groups may be either concentrated or centralized in a certain limited space or clustered in one particular section (Yinger, 2001). There are also particular reasons because of which segregation takes place. For example, South Africa saw legal separation because of Apartheid. Similarly, in many other countries, segregation happens because of the social status in the society or the ethnicity of the people (Johnston and Poulson, 2005). Voluntary segregation is where immigrants prefer to live in a segregated set up so that they could mutually benefit from one another (Johnston and Poulson, 2005). Segregation is measured using Index of Dissimilarity (calculates the way in which particular groups are distributed across particular locations) based on that data that emerges through census. It is often called the index of inequality also (Reardon and O Sullivan, 2004). In the United States, periodic assessments of racial segregation and income segregation have been done to understand the level of segregation. According to Glaeser and Vigdor (2012), the dissimilarity index for the black community has been reducing consistently each year - in 1980, it was 72.7, 1990 it was 67.8 and in 2000, it further reduced to 64.0 (Glaeser and Vigdor, 2012). Among all the communities, the black community is the one which is segregated the most and the segregation is most dominant in metropolitan cities such as Chicago, New York, Detroit, Washington D.C and Los Angeles (Glaeser and Vigdor, 2012). This is followed by the Hispanic population, which had a dissimilarity index of 50.9 in 2000 (Glaeser and Vigdor, 2012). On one hand, the segregation due to race reduced when compared to the earlier years, the segregation due to income increased between the rich and poor form 0.29 to 0.43 (Glaeser and Vigdor, 2012; Iceland et al, 2002). When statistics related to both racial and income segregation were combined, it revealed that more than half of the people who belonged to the racial community had lower income levels and thus, they lived in segregated communities and did not live in a neighborhood where the population consisted of a majority of white people. The United States has a long history of segregation because of laws and legislations which were enacted before the Civil Rights movement where races were kept apart in public places, educational institutions, prohibition of interracial marriages and lack of voting rights for the black. As per the Fair Housing Act of 1968, there should not be any discrimination in housing based on factors such as race, color, ethnic origin, religion and sexual orientation (Schwartz, 2008). However, according to Schwartz, redlining (providing services at increased costs based on race, gender or ethnic origin) and mortgage discrimination exists even now. The strongest impact of segregation is seen on three avenues - education, health and crime (Schwartz, 2008). Living in a segregated set-up reduces the number of opportunities that the minority have in getting access to good education as the quality of education often depends on the geographic location because funding of many educational institutions happen through the income/revenue that are gained from property taxes (Simpson, 2007). Similar impact is also seen in the health care sector as low income communities often see minimal facilities and overcrowding. In addition, crime rates are also noticed to be highest in segregated regions because of poverty and lack of facilities (Schwartz, 2008). Detroit – History of Segregation Detroit is one of the cities in the US that have seen residential segregation in a persistent manner and it has a long history. The segregation in Detroit was primarily because of racial reasons and later due to economic reasons (Darden and Kamel, 2000). During the late 1930s and early 1940s, there was a large increase in the population of the black in Detroit because of the Great Migration as the black population moved from Southern America. This increase in population was seen as a threat by the whites in Detroit and it led to the beginning of racial clashes (Grant-Thomas, 2011). These clashes frequently turned violent such as the 1943 Race Riot where 25 black people were killed (Grant-Thomas, 2011). The region was already suffering from shortages because of World War II, but the blacks felt the pressure more because of overcrowding. It is said that over 250 black families were attacked during the period from 1945-1965 by the whites for moving into areas where white families lived (Grant-Thomas, 2011). Not all of the white community resorted to violence, and hence, some others chose to move to suburbs. Added to it were the restrictive agreements, which forbade different racial and ethnic communities to reside in particular areas. Hence, it created a segregation pattern. Post 1948, when these restrictive agreements were abolished, members of the black community could move around or live in the city of Detroit without any restrictions (Jacoby, 2000). However, these ethnic minority groups continued to live in segregated groups due to a number of reasons. For instance, the white community preferred to stay in a separate area because they felt that they would get freedom from crime (Glasmeier and Farrigan, 2007). Similarly, the black community could not integrate because they could not find affordable housing in primarily white dominated areas. According to Darren, (1995), the dissimilarity index between the white and the black community was high in Detroit in comparison with many cities across the United States and hence, there are several reasons because of which Detroit stands out when it comes to geographical segregation. Segregation and Stereotypes in Detroit According to the study conducted by Farley et al in 1994, the city of Detroit saw very strong stereotypes and carried out the discrimination at a higher intensity (Farley et al, 1994). Their study saw a number of responses which stated that there would be a higher rate of crimes, instances of violence and drug abuse if the black community moved into their areas of residence. Another stereotype that they commonly came across was that the black community was less intelligent and hence it would be a challenge to get along them (Farley et al, 1994). Hence, Farley et als study concluded that the racial challenges in the city of Detroit were far more intensified and overt. These stereotypes led to a higher level of discrimination and hence, the black population began to choose to live in segregated communities as that was more comfortable for them. Farleys study adds that the black families felt that they were uncomfortable living as the first black family in particular areas (Farley et al, 1994). In 2000, the dissimilarity index in Detroit was at 86.7, which was the second highest in the country (Knox and Pinch, 2006). Segregation also had a strong negative impact in terms of racial profiling, where the black community was subjected to a higher number of security checks and arbitrary stoppages (Knox and Pinch, 2006). Due to these strong stereotypes and racial profiling, the black community often felt scared to move out of their neighborhoods and did not feel comfortable in living in the same residential where the white community lived. A similar pattern was also seen when it came to applying for jobs as the black population felt uncomfortable in a work atmosphere dominated by the white community (Knox and Pinch, 2006). Hence, racial profiling has been one of the obstacles when it comes to residential integration. The role of Real Estate Practices in Segregation Before the Fair Housing Act of 1968 was passed, the segregation of the black and the white communities had intensified in Detroit, with clear black and white neighborhood. Post the implementation of the act, Detroit did not witness a progress towards integration of the segregated communities. As per Krysan (2007), one of the major reasons for a higher level of segregation in Detroit is because of the way in which discrimination happened with respect to Real Estate Practices, just like many other cities in America. However, Krysan, (2008) described Detroit as the most segregated metropolitan area in the nation because of the real estate market which propagated segregation. Krysan adds that the members of the African American community find it difficult to own property in the areas where white population resides even though the total number of applications that they submit for apartments is double the number of applications submitted by the White community (Krysan, 2008). The real estate sector did not provide mortgages or loans to the black community as they felt that it was high risk. Similarly, the real estate brokers carried out their job through a steering process, where they would lead a white person to only a white community/neighborhood and blacks to the black neighborhood (Widick, 2006). This steering was very common in Detroit and it strengthened segregation. It is also interesting to note that the real-estate brokers also were segregation, where the white community would approach only the white real-estate agents and the black community would approach the black real-estate agents (Widick, 2006). As the real estate brokers belonging to the black community also felt discriminated, they also showed accommodation only in those areas which were dominated by a black population. During the early 70s, when some of the members of the black community who belonged to the middle-class finally moved into residential areas with a majority of white residents, they were treated with a cold approach. However, many considered this to be an improvement because the instances of vandalism or rioting did not occur (Widick, 2006). However, it is noteworthy that when the black community started moving in to an area predominantly occupied by the white population, white community started moving away from the area (Darden, 1987). In addition, the demand for areas which had a racially mix population became low among white population. The Industrial culture, poverty and Segregation in Detroit After the second world far, there was a change in the job locations in Detroit. Earlier, most of the jobs were in the city center and only some were in suburban areas. However, the 70s and 80s saw a dramatic change in the job locations as more than half of the jobs shifted to the suburban regions. The change was driven by the industries and factories which were located in the suburbs. In what is known as the White Flight, it was noticed that the white population living within the city of Detroit during 1950-1990 underwent a decline from 1.5 million to 220,000 and they moved to the suburban areas (Ryan, 2005). A majority of the jobs which were still located in the downtown areas were characterized with low salaries and bad working conditions (Ryan, 2005). Due to this change, the black community that lived near the city centers was forced to take up these low playing jobs because they could not afford the transpiration charges to the outskirts of the city (Grengs, 2012). In fact, a major criticism against some of the factories was that they deliberately chose locations which were difficult for the black community to access and hence, they could be excluded (Grengs, 2012). This again influenced the economic status of the black community and led to further segregation as the white neighborhood became unaffordable for them. Because of the segregation in Detroit where by most of the employees well-paying jobs were taken up by the white population, the black population was forced to live in extremely impoverished conditions. As the jobs were now in suburban area, the resources and means available to them were extremely limited. As per Farley et al (1994), it resulted in a wider disparity in the economic status between the white population and the black population. Of the total population, 36% of the black population had incomes which were below the line of poverty and in comparison only 8% of the white population had incomes below the poverty lines (Farley et al, 1994). Changes in Residential Segregation The past decade has seen some noteworthy changes to segregation patterns. The change was initiated by the economic downturn, which particularly affected the auto industries based in Detroit. The high number of layoff in the auto sector resulted in a crisis related to foreclosure and it resulted in members of the white community selling off their houses located in the suburbs to people from the black community (Allen and Turner, 2012). However, the impact of this change is not yet clear but it is considered to be a sign of integration which may happen over the course of the year ahead. While residential segregation continues to be a challenge, there is a better integration seen when it comes to the working environment. Conclusion Overall, it is indeed clear that Detroit has a huge history of segregation and there is a long way to go for the metropolitan city to achieve a properly integrated population. While the phenomenon of segregation was visible all across the United States, the trends related to it were particularly strong in the city of Detroit because of strong stereotypes, large influx of the black population during the 1940s (which the white population considered to be a threat), real estate practices that strengthened segregation as well as the industrial culture seen in the city. Over the past couple of decades, while the community has been open to integration in terms of people belonging to different segregated communities working together at the same workplace, residential integration is still an ongoing process. The recent trends related to integration are positive and hence, are considered to be first steps towards the dream of an integrated community in the auto city. 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