11/2/2017 Segregation and concentrated poverty in the nations capital

he social mobility gap between black and white Americans has barely narrowed in the last
decades, and sharp differences in access to opportunity persist.This racial opportunity gap can, in
part, be traced back to the neighborhoods where whites and blacks grow up: research from urban
sociologists like Patrick Sharkey and Robert Sampsonshows the damaging effects racial
segregation and concentrated neighborhood poverty can have on childrens life chances.
Washington D.C. is a case in point.

STUBBORN SEGREGATION IN D.C:

Racial segregation has been declining over the last 50 years within the largest metropolitan areas,
according to a 2012 study by The Manhattan Institute. But there are exceptions to this rule; one of
those is the nations capital. In the District of Columbia (the central city, as opposed to the
Washington metropolitan area) there remains a stark, persistent, white-black racial divide.

Figure 1 shows the percentage of white and black population in D.C. neighborhoods in 1990 and in
2010. A clear East-West racial divide can be seen:

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11/2/2017 Segregation and concentrated poverty in the nations capital

Almost of all the census tracts that were majority white or black (i.e. over 60 percent of the
population) in 1990 remained that way in 2010.

SEGREGATION AND OPPORTUNITY

Racial segregation in central cities typically means greater concentrated poverty and fewer
opportunities for economic mobility. As Figure 2 shows, 94 percent of the D.C. neighborhoods with
a majority white population have less than 10 percent of their families living below the poverty line,
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compared with 22 percent of majority black neighborhoods. Meanwhile, just 4 percent of

predominantly white neighborhoods have 30 percent or more of their families living below the
poverty line, compared with 38 percent of predominantly black neighborhoods:

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11/2/2017 Segregation and concentrated poverty in the nations capital

Black D.C. neighborhoods also have less-educated residents. As Figure 3 shows, 97% of people
aged 25 and over in white neighborhoods have graduated high school, compared with only 82% in
black neighborhoods:

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11/2/2017 Segregation and concentrated poverty in the nations capital

RACIAL SEGREGATION, POVERTY AND ECONOMIC MOBILITY

D.Cs continuing racial segregation is a warning sign,

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11/2/2017 Segregation and concentrated poverty in the nations capital

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