Metro Detroit no longer most segregated

Mike Wilkinson / The Detroit News

The steady movement of African-Americans from Detroit to area suburbs helped knock the region off the top of the list of most-segregated regions in the country.

Metro Detroit is now No. 4, behind Milwaukee, New York and Chicago, respectively, based on a statistical analysis of census data released last week.

And although the region remains highly segregated, it experienced the biggest drop in a nationally recognized segregation index, with nearly twice as many people now living in areas that are considered integrated, compared with just 10 years ago. The changes are a byproduct of migration patterns that have dramatically altered communities throughout Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties.

Continued at: http://detnews.com/article/20110329/...#ixzz1I0Xig3Wt

It all started when more middle class blacks move to Southfield thanks to the ethnic Jewish communities. Now blacks can live anywhere pass 8 Mile Rd. and beyond.

So...I'm confused...we don't want to be like Chicago and New York now?

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Originally Posted by bailey

So...I'm confused...we don't want to be like Chicago and New York now?

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I've been telling you - comparisons aren't always healthy, wholesale copycatting isn't the way to go.

^ What I love is that for the first time in my lifetime, a distinct post-industrial Detroit and Michigan identity is emerging.

In 10 years, we may have shrunk a bit more, but the black % will continue to decrease rapidly. There is almost nothing that will keep those of us who grew up in post-1967 Detroit, and dealt with the crack wars, and have options, here. In the meantime, I wouldn't be surprised if the white percentage in 2020 cracked 20%. In 10-15 years, you'll be dealing with less of a black majority, and more of a plurality that ought to be interesting.

I know I'm going to be criticized for saying this but maybe this is part of Detroit's problem, compared to other successful Northern big cities. Maybe the whole integration, peace to my brother, mixed neighborhood thing is NOT a recipe for success? Do people of different cultures really need to live directly next door to each other? Of course the downtown areas of most cities are usually diverse but many of the neighborhoods in big cities tend not to be. In cities such as Chicago and New York, they have hundreds of strong ethnic neighborhood enclaves that tend to thrive very well and these cities seem to do just fine. Of course these cities also have dozens of bohemian neighborhoods where people can choose to live mixed up amongst whoever or whatever. These cities have very strong and distinct neighborhoods, soley made up of Polish, Puerto Rican, Black-American, Cuban, Indian, Korean, Chinese, Russian, Jewish, Vietnamese, African, Ukrainian, Mexican, Dominican, Middle-Eastern, Irish, Italian etc...

But even though the neighborhoods are very segregated, the people all work next to each other on their jobs, they take public transportation together and they cheer for the same sports teams together. I personally think Detroit needs to have more ethnic neighborhood enclaves. Just because someone wants to live in a neighborhood that is made up of their culture doesn't make it a bad thing and in many cases, it makes a big city that much more interesting. Part of the magical experience about these cities is touring the hundreds of different neighborhoods. People who live in these cities will tell you that you can go your entire life dining out every night, and not eat a the same restaurant twice. It's like a bunch of little countries in one city. And if people want to live in a diverse neighborhood, these cities offer those options as well.

I think segregation is not such a bad word. It's simply living amongst your culture. Big deal!

Alot of people self segregate as well and of course our salary plays a part in where we choose to live also. If you have the money you can live anywhere you want, black, white, purple or pink.

ah another one of those surveys that just measures black and white segregation. America today is much more than just those two groups.

I grew up in a South Jersey suburb about 10 miles outside of Philadelphia in the 50's and 60's. The town ran the economic spectrum from working class living in the equivalent of the Detroit suburban 1,000 sf ranch to very wealthy living in Victorian mansions. It also had a substantial black minority of about 7% in 1960. There were a couple of rigidly defined black neighborhoods, so if you looked at the town it was pretty segregated, but in my elementary school we went to school with black kids from kindergarten on. The town was [[and is) small enough to have only one junior high and senior high, so from 7th grade on we were all going to the same school together.

In my opinion, growing up with black and white kids playing together on the playground [[and to a certain extent outside of school - my house was about a block from one of the black sections) was a valuable experience, because we learned from a young age that kids are just kids. There are kids you want to hang out with and there are kids who are thugs, and it doesn't have anything to do with race. You can hang out with black kids and white kids, and you can learn to avoid the thugs of both races.

I'm not wanting to be all pollyanna about this, but at least in our case it worked pretty well.

BTW, the town remains pretty diverse. As of 2010 the population had grown to 20,700, from 12,500 in 1960. It's somewhat more wealthy because of the building of McMansions in the 90's and 00's and movement of middle-class families into the working-class sections to get their kids into the school system, but it still has a black population of a little over 6%, with 6% Asian and about 3.5% Hispanic tossed in [[the census bureau doesn't seem to have collected data on the latter two in 1960).

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Originally Posted by Don K

I grew up in a South Jersey suburb about 10 miles outside of Philadelphia in the 50's and 60's. The town ran the economic spectrum from working class living in the equivalent of the Detroit suburban 1,000 sf ranch to very wealthy living in Victorian mansions. It also had a substantial black minority of about 7% in 1960. There were a couple of rigidly defined black neighborhoods, so if you looked at the town it was pretty segregated, but in my elementary school we went to school with black kids from kindergarten on. The town was [[and is) small enough to have only one junior high and senior high, so from 7th grade on we were all going to the same school together.

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I grew up in Detroit in the forties and fifties. I went to Detroit public schools [[Wayne Elementary, Jackson Intermediate, Denby High). I never saw a single black student, teacher, janitor, or cafeteria worker. The only "slightly brown" kids were Maronite Lebanese. When we moved to Rochester while I was in high school, I finally had some black classmates.

[QUOTE=begingri;234381]Mike Wilkinson / The Detroit News

The steady movement of African-Americans from Detroit to area suburbs helped knock the region off the top of the list of most-segregated regions in the country.

Illwill posted exactly what I was gonna say. Chicago may be segregated, but all those different types of people live in the same city. The link in the OP did not have a map. I saw the story yesterday and it had this map http://tinyurl.com/4njzcmq .

...time will tell how things will evolve.. I'd like to see all the blighted structures eliminated, and a reassessment of what type of housing makes more sense to attract younger people and keep them here.. townhouses, lofts, modernized apts., etc. not "everybody" wants to own a house..

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Originally Posted by Don K

In my opinion, growing up with black and white kids playing together on the playground [[and to a certain extent outside of school - my house was about a block from one of the black sections) was a valuable experience, because we learned from a young age that kids are just kids.

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I think that's way overblown. I grew up in a white and a overwelmingly Catholic area and can say that I've never had any problems as an adult dealing with people of other races or religions.

More times than not I think racists views come from the parents and starts at a young age.
That's obviously not set in stone as children can break away from what they hear from their parents.

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Originally Posted by rjk

I think that's way overblown.

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I think you're overblowing what he said. He simply gave his opinion that physical/geographical closeness gives different folks more an oppertunity to breakdown social barriers than those that never or very rarely interact with folks different than themselves. I think that's generally true. If anything, I think geographical integration is often under-appreciated. Heck, there is even something important to be had in being forced to sit down and overhearing conversations while waiting in the line at the SOS/DMV. I can understand why folks that know no other way would be defensive about someone making claims about their level of adjustment in the greater society, but it's largely an emotional response.

I am sure this will just continue and can pretty much guarantee that the city's black percentage will drop in 2020. While it did go from 81% to 83% from 2000 to 2010, it was the smallest percentage increase that the city has had ever and I bet the 83% was actually down from a peak in the early-mid 2000s.

Segregation isn't just about numbers. It's about a state of mind.

We are still segregated.