Creating and Sustaining Diversity in the 21st Century:

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Creating and Sustaining Diversity in the 21st
Century Lessons from the Neighborhoods
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Important time in U.S. history

• We are becoming a more diverse nation
• By 2050 it is projected that the U.S. population
  will be 50 minority

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And there is increased acceptance of diversity

• According to a 1997 Gallup Poll
• ?61 of all Whites 83 of all Blacks in the
  U.S. stated that they would rather live in a
  neighborhood with both black and white families.
• ?When Whites were asked if they would move if
  Blacks moved into the neighborhood in great
  numbers, only 18 reported that they would move.
  In 1967 this figure was 72.

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Increased acceptance of diversity

• A 1997 Boston Globe poll found that
• ?Almost 90 of blacks, whites, Latinos, and
  Asians say they have developed friendships that
  cross racial and ethnic lines
• ?Although many Americans still chose to live
  with their own ethnic or racial groups, strong
  majorities of all colors profess tolerance of
  other races and ethnic groups

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Existence of stable, diverse neighborhoods

• Racially, ethnically, and economically diverse
  communities exist in many cities
• Bucking the stereotype that a diverse
  neighborhooda changing neighborhood
• What factors contribute to stable diversity?

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Research focusing on the positive story

• Focus on policies strategies that have brought
  and can bring about stable diversity to urban
  neighborhoods
• We know there is greater demand for diverse
  neighborhoods than there are diverse
  neighborhoods available
• By presenting positive examples of stable
  diversity, we can short circuit notion that
  diversity is only a temporary point in
  resegregation

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The Study

• Coordinated by the Loyola University Center for
  Urban Research and Learning, the Policy Research
  Action Group, and the Leadership Council for
  Metropolitan Open Communities
• A collaborative universitycommunity,
  researcherpractitioner effort
• Funded by HUD

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The study

• Diversity is defined as how close each tract
  came to the whole citys racial and ethnic
  composition
• Stable is defined as approximating this
  diversity for two consecutive census years (1980
  and 1990)

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Which communities did we study?

• Fourteen neighborhoods in nine cities

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Place US map with studied cities here
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Which communities did we study?

• New York City
• Jackson Heights, Queens
• Fort Green, Brooklyn
• Philadelphia
• West Mt. Airy
• Memphis
• Vollintine-Evergreen

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Which communities did we study?

• Milwaukee
• Sherman Park
• Chicago
• Rogers Park
• Edgewater
• Uptown
• Chicago Lawn (Marquette Park)
• Denver
• Park Hill

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Which communities did we study?

• Houston
• Houston Heights
• Oakland
• Fruitvale
• San Antonio
• Seattle
• Southeast Seattle

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Common Characteristics

• Attractive Physical Characteristics
• Mixture of types of diversity
• Within blocks
• Small pockets of racial/ethnic homogeneity
• Presence of social seams
• Residents awareness of their communitys stable
  diversity
• Community-based organizations contributing to
  maintaining diversity

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Common Characteristics

• Moral or value-oriented component to community
  organization/institution involvement
• Efforts to spur economic development
• Common Challenges
• transition from older to younger residents
• addressing community disinvestment
• community safety
• schools

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Common Challenges

• Transition from older to younger residents
• Addressing community disinvestment
• Community safety
• Improving quality of education

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Two models of diversity

• Diversity by Direction
• Diversity by Circumstance

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Diversity by Direction

• Emerged out of civil rights movement of the 1960s
• actively market themselves as diverse
• developed an array of community
  organizations, social networks,
  institutional accommodations
  to sustain diversity

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Diverse by Direction

• Community-based organization intervention
• promoting positive perceptions
• affirmative marketing programs
• monitoring fair housing laws
• addressing quality of life concerns
• Religious congregations play prominent role
• Social seams well developed

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Diverse by Direction

• More political and financial resources
• Working relationships with banks and real estate
  agents
• Emergence of strong leadership within community
• Bi-racial or bi-ethnic, rather than
  multi-racial/ethnic character

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Diversity by Circumstance

• Community has not worked directly to
  develop/sustain its diversity the
  community happens
  to become diverse

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Diversity by Circumstance

• Result of economic social processes not
  directly related to resident or community
  organization actions, such as
• gentrification stalled by poor real estate market
• establishment of port of entry for new immigrants
• revitalization of adjacent areas/spill-over
  investment
• transition because of aging population
• development of affordable housing
• Social seams not as visible or as strong

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Diversity by Circumstance

• Multi-racial and/or multi-ethnic
  diversity
  
• Network of community organizations that
  represents different ethnic/racial group interests

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Diversity by Circumstance

• Lower median income
• Affordable housing represents larger portion of
  housing stock

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Diversity by Circumstance meeting the challenges

• Religious institutions act as bridges between
  multiple ethnic groups
• Developing efforts to weave together various
  ethnic and racial groups

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Recommendations Conclusions

• Develop strategies to strengthen community-based
  organizations
• Establish regional networks of diverse
  communities
• Create leadership training institutes
• Public private agencies should earmark
  resources specifically for diverse communities

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Recommendations Conclusions

• Increased receptivity to new immigrant groups
• Maintain or strengthen fair housing laws,
  anti-discrimination laws, the Community
  Reinvestment Act, other related state local
  laws
• Government agencies should be proactive in
  promoting diverse neighborhoods

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Recommendations Conclusions

• The media should take an active role in telling
  positive stories of diverse community successes
• Support public private programs supporting
  mixed-income developments
• Business should look carefully at diverse
  communities as potentially strong markets
• Bolster the quality of local schools
• Promote efforts to improve community safety

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Looking ahead to the future...

• We can end the notion that the only stable
  neighborhood is a segregated neighborhood

Greenhouse/Boston Globe