Introduction
Housing segregation involves the partitioning of neighborhoods depending on the ethnicity of the occupants. Propagation is enforced through biased housing options for the minority populations, offering poor housing conditions, and enforcing biased neighborhood legislations, among other ways. Consequently, the poor neighborhoods affect the education, health, and economic nature of the minority groups. Economically, access to credit markets and mortgage are hindrances to the minority populations when acquiring houses in safe neighborhoods (Iceland 7). Thus, this paper explains the concept of housing segregation, as well as describes how the concept relates to education, health, and economics.
Housing Segregation
According to Williams and Collins, segregation refers to the division of dwelling places by considering the ethnic orientation of the people (405). One study by Pager and Shepherd explains the production of housing segregation (188). The study utilizes an experiment on housing utilities by gathering audit data. The results show that there is some bias across some platforms regarding housing options for the minority population groups that are characterized by the Latinos, Asians, Blacks, and Native American communities. The study suggests that blacks go through adverse treatment, with a ratio of one to five, in their search for housing (Pager and Shepherd 188). The Hispanics also experience the same treatment in search of shelter, with a ratio of one to four (Pager and Shepherd 188).
Ideally, housing discrimination for these communities was promoted through limited information concerning the available housing units. One way this was done was by availing inadequate financing options to minority populations who had the need to purchase a home. In case they still pursued their goal of buying their homes, despite all the odds, they would be steered to the poor neighborhoods and communities set aside for the minority populations. Eventually, the system worked to the detriment of the minority blacks while benefiting their white counterparts. For instance, the well-to-do black communities living in segregated neighborhoods suffer a poverty incident rate of 0.283 (Massey 336). On the other hand, the poor whites living in racially homogenous areas are significantly insulated from poverty, only suffering a poverty incident rate of 0.150 (Massey 336).
There is a high level of housing discrimination in case the real estate or housing agent is located in a neighborhood that hosts the majority white population. It is likely that a black American individual will go through discrimination regarding housing information opportunities when looking for a home in a location that is dominated by the white community (Pager and Shepherd 189). However, these incidences vary according to different metropolitan factors. In fact, it is common for housing segregation to occur after the signing of a rental agreement. For instance, there are various complaints filed with the civil rights commission, indicating that most property owners fail to provide sustainable development for housing units inhabited by the blacks. It is also a frequent occurrence for minority populations in these units to withstand threats from their neighbors and managers. They also have to live up to unequal resident rules, which in most cases, are to their detriment.
The Roots of Housing Segregation in the Society
The physical separation of various races through differential residential housing arrangements is a phenomenon that is imposed through different policies and legislation. Major economic institutions that run the housing policies implemented by the federal government spearheaded most of the legislations that promoted segregation among the various communities (Baker 322). The judiciary further approved these impositions as elevated by the white supremacy, an ideology that was popularized by cultural institutions and the Church (Williams and Collins 405). These policies and legislations were combined with various neighborhood organizations to ensure that there were limited housing options for the black communities in these places. Moreover, the real homeowners and real estate agents practiced discrimination in affluent neighborhoods, thereby subjecting the blacks to the least desirable areas.
In effect, the black communities living in the Northern and Southern cities have endured segregation since 1860 (Williams and Collins 405). Thus, segregation is a salient feature of contemporary cities in America. The tenets of the practice date back to the onset of the twentieth century, where segregation levels were unaffected by the improving socioeconomic status of the people (Pager and Shepherd 188). However, the practice decreased from 1980 to 2000, even though the black American society continued to be subjected to varying patterns of residential placements, with different marks from those occupied by the white community.
Housing Segregation and Education
Education and segregation are closely related issues. First, segregation informs the available educational quality in most schools (William and Collins 405). The problem is rampant to the magnitude that the black community is already aware of the schools they are to attend. The quality of education available in a neighborhood mostly depends on some community resources they receive, given that the funding available for most public schools emanates from the local government. Overall, there is a relationship between residential segregation and poverty levels. In effect, a majority of public schools boast a high incidence of poor students, as these students come from the surrounding poor neighborhoods. William and Collins further espoused that nationally, poor students from the Hispanic and black communities accounted for 0.66% of the total student population in schools in the year 1991 (405).
In particular, learning institutions in Chicago had the largest number of minority students in 1989 at 0.9% (Williams and Collins 405). Another research by Watford and Cameoux documents that while the Los Angeles Unified school population in the district amounts to about 10% of black students, the community gets poor service from the UCLA (2). The implication is that segregation is still rampant, even at the university level. One’s racial orientation is a critical determinant of the neighborhoods they can dwell in. For instance, many poor white families have the privilege of living in posh residential estates owing to their racial orientation (Williams and Collins 406).
Overall, minority student groups go through severe seclusion in schools. A study by Williams and Collins purports that, when most minority families moved from the ghetto to the suburbs, they were not readily embraced (406). Thus, the segregation these families faced back at home was extended to the schools, as there was an increase in suburban school segregation. As a result, both Latino and black students attend schools characterized by poor mean scores, as this is where they comfortably fit. In contrast, white students attend the best performing schools as they are readily accepted in suburban schools (Williams and Collins 406). Consequently, residential segregation is a crucial factor in high school dropout rates, as well as poor graduate grades among the Latino and black students (Williams and Collins 406).
Housing Segregation and Health
Housing segregation has two effects on health. First, it affects the quality of health care given. Secondly, it influences healthy behaviors in a community. Quality medical care is a challenge for the African-American populations, and the problem worsens through segregation. In fact, health care centers are highly centralized in affluent neighborhoods compared to their scarcity in the poor neighborhoods. Thus, pharmacies located in poor neighborhoods are less likely to stock adequate medications compared to those positioned in affluent residential areas (Williams and Collins 411).
The second effect of segregation on health is the impact it has in promoting healthy behaviors. One research by Williams and Collins espouses that there are some recreational facilities in advantaged neighborhoods compared to the less advantaged residential areas (410). In fact, there are no recreational facilities in poor neighborhoods, as concerns for personal safety supersede the need for physical exercises.
Additionally, segregation affects the acquisition of desirable services among minority populations. Segregation practices inform racial differences in the purchase of certain services, owing to differences in income levels. One assumption is that a majority of the segregated communities are poor and have low-income levels. Thus, most commercial enterprises avoid these neighborhoods, meaning that their valuable services are scarce in these places. To substitute for the low earnings, the enterprises offer inferior quality products to make the services affordable (Williams and Collins 411). In turn, people from poor neighborhoods end up paying a higher price for low-quality goods, as fresh fruits and vegetables are scarce. In effect, scarcity leads to high prices, and the high prices imply that the residents cannot afford the products, leading to poor nutrition among these communities.
Further, segregated residences have become an important advertisement area for unhealthy products due to the use of commodities in the neighborhoods. Some key characteristics of segregated neighborhoods are poverty, violent behaviors, and unhealthy habits (Williams and Collins, 411). Thus, the communities constitute ready markets for alcohol and cigarettes. In effect, companies have capitalized on their marketing strategies to target people from these residences, as they are most prone to the consumption of harmful products. In fact, alcohol and cigarettes are the coping mechanisms for individuals living in low-income neighborhoods as they offer relief from the deprivation and suffering that characterizes the environments. Most people from segregated neighborhoods suffer stress, family constraints, neighborhood crime, violence, and even death due to poverty, poor education, and limited incomes.
Housing Segregation and Economics
William. J. Wilson proposed an economic theory in 1987 to explain the idea of housing segregation. In his theory, the economist argued that demographic forces and powerful economics transformed the inner city environment (Massey 330). He argued that poor manufacturing climates and the placement of blue-collar jobs in suburban areas, as well as the growth of the service sector, out-phased the availability of manual jobs for the minority populations. The effects of this economic wave were weak family structures, a reduction in the number of marriageable people, and high poverty rates. The economic wave also meant that inner-city occupants were isolated from middle-class jobs (Baker 323). In the same period, the rise of civil rights created new opportunities for middle-class blacks, who eventually moved out of the ghettos for better living conditions. Thus, a big number of minorities left behind were the poor blacks with limited resources, institutional support, and reduced societal values. In effect, these regions are still assumed to be for the poor and the majority of black communities.
Credit markets are another economic instrument that promotes housing segregation. Credit markets influence the availability of mortgages for both the black and white communities. Pager and Shepherd suggest that both Hispanics and blacks face a higher rejection rate when seeking mortgages than their white counterparts (191). The black community is also exposed to poor credit terms compared to their white counterparts, despite similar credit characteristics. Pager and Shepherd further espouse that blacks end up paying higher interest rates compared to whites on housing mortgages (191). The authors further assert that the differences are more rampant, depending on the buyer’s age, mortgage date purchase, and income levels. One assumption that governs this line of thought is that the blacks are more likely to default payment of the housing loans compared to the whites. In effect, about 82% of such loan applications are rejected (Pager and Shepherd 191).
In conclusion, estate agents and homeowners spearhead housing segregation. These two players offer insufficient information on available homes and harass potential black and Latino owners, thereby discouraging their tenancy. Consequently, blacks and Latinos are forced to live in poor neighborhoods, which affect their education, health, and income. Economically, the segregated groups experience inferior credit markets and mortgage disadvantages, as they are assumed to have poor loan repayment behavior.
Works Cited
Baker, Scott. “The Paradoxes of Desegregation: Race, Class and Education.” American Journal of Education 109.3 (2001): 320-343, 2001. Print.
Iceland, John. Residential Segregation: A Transatlantic Analysis. New York: Migration Policy Institute, 2014. Print.
Massey, Douglas. “American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass.” American Journal of Sociology 96.2 (1990): 329-357. Print.
Pager, Devah, and Hana Shepherd. “The Sociology of Discrimination: Racial Discrimination in Employment, Housing, Credit and Consumer Markets”. Annual Review of Sociology 34 (2008): 181- 209. Print.
Watford, Tara, and Eddie Comeaux. “Merit Matters: Race, Myth & UCLA admissions 2006 CAPAA Findings.” Research Report 3.3 (2006): 1-7. Print.
Williams, David, and Chiquita Collins. “Racial Residential Segregation: A Fundamental Cause of Racial Disparities in Health.” Public Health Reports 116 (2001): 404-413. Print.