Suburban Diversity

posted by Alan Greenblatt

The National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University on Long Island will be hosting a big academic conference later this week on the increasing demographic diversity of suburbs. In preparation for that event, the center has released its latest national poll of suburbanites.

You can examine the poll for suburban-eye views of the economy and Obama, but I found some of the racial attitude material more compelling.

Not surprisingly, given the fact that racial diversity in suburbs is a growing phenomenon, mobility among minorities shows up as greater than that for Anglos. Half of white suburbanites (49 percent) have lived in their neighborhoods for 11 years or more. By contrast, two-thirds of suburban Hispanics (66 percent) have lived in their neighborhoods for five years or less.

About half of suburbanites say that their communities are racially mixed -- 52 percent of whites say so and 45 percent of African Americans agree, as do 48 percent of Hispanics. Nonetheless, the survey says that fewer suburban respondents find racial tension to be a problem or a big problem than people who live in central cities.

Comments

[Thomas]

I am not surprised that there is less racial tension in the suburbs than in cities. Experience in cities is based on proximity, you go to the local grocery store or bar or whatever. Experience in suburbs, where driving is easy and distance becomes irrelevant, is based on common interest. Its no problem to drive across town to the store. Suburbanites surely come into contact with people of other races, but I would be interested to see how often suburbanites encounter people of other races or beliefs in the suburbs as opposed to urbanites in the city. My guess would be that suburbanites say its not a problem because they often only see the other parts of their city from within the mentally cushioned and controlled space of their car.