Income, Race, and Space: A Comparative Analysis of the Effects of Poverty Concentration on White and Black Neighborhoods in the Detroit and Pittsburgh Metropolitan Areas

Author: Karen J. Gibson

Dissertation School: University of California, Berkeley

Abstract:
This dissertation provides a comparative analysis of the spatial distribution of poverty among the white and black populations of the Detroit and Pittsburgh metropolitan areas using 1990 Census data. Unlike most poverty research, this study examines both the white poor and suburban areas in an attempt to untangle the effects of space (poverty concentration) from the effects of race (housing and job discrimination) on the socioeconomic characteristics of the population. The hypothesis that the white poor have better life chances than the black poor because they do not live in concentrated poverty is tested. The findings suggest that white and black neighborhoods with poverty rates between 20 percent and 40 percent share many socioeconomic characteristics, including a lower percentage of married family households and a higher percentage of single-parent households. In addition, interracial analysis reveals that even when poverty and educational attainment levels are held constant, black unemployment rates are significantly higher than white unemployment rates. The study also finds that poverty concentration is associated with unemployment, low educational attainment, and single-parent families, regardless of race. The author suggests that more case studies are needed to examine the interplay between race and class.

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