Amy Spring

Neighborhood Foreclosures, Racial/Ethnic Transitions, and Residential Segregation.

In this article, we use data on virtually all foreclosure events between 2005 and 2009 to calculate neighborhood foreclosure rates for nearly all block groups in the United States to assess the impact of housing foreclosures on neighborhood racial/ethnic change and on broader patterns of racial residential segregation. We find that the foreclosure crisis was patterned strongly along racial lines: black, Latino, and racially integrated neighborhoods had exceptionally high foreclosure rates. Multilevel models of racial/ethnic change reveal that foreclosure concentrations were linked to declining shares of whites and expanding shares of black and Latino residents. Results further suggest that these compositional shifts were driven by both white population loss and minority growth, especially from racially mixed settings with high foreclosure rates. To explore the impact of these racially selective migration streams on patterns of residential segregation, we simulate racial segregation assuming that foreclosure rates remained at their 2005 levels throughout the crisis period. Our simulations suggest that the foreclosure crisis increased racial segregation between blacks and whites by 1.1 dissimilarity points, and between Latinos and whites by 2.2 dissimilarity points.

Variations in Housing Foreclosures by Race and Place, 2005–2012

This study describes the spatial and racial variations in housing foreclosure during the recent housing crisis. Using data on the 9.5 million visible foreclosures (public auctions and bank repossessions) occurring between 2005 and 2012, we show that the timing and depth of the foreclosure crisis differed considerably across regions and metropolitan areas, with those located in the Mountain and Pacific West regions experiencing the highest foreclosure risks. The crisis was patterned sharply along racial/ethnic lines, with metros and neighborhoods with large black and Latino populations—as well as racially mixed neighborhoods—having high rates of foreclosure. Our analysis also highlights the particular vulnerability of Latino households, who not only had very high individual risk of foreclosures but tended to reside in areas hit hardest by the crisis. The race-stratified geographic patterns of foreclosure revealed here are substantially more complicated than a narrative that depicts only the unique disadvantage of black households during the crisis, and likely reflect some level of specific targeting of minority populations and neighborhoods by predatory and subprime lenders.

Neighborhood Attainment over the Adult Life Course

This study uses data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, in conjunction with neighborhood-level data from the U.S. decennial census and American Community Survey, to examine the trajectory of individuals’ neighborhood characteristics from initial household formation into mid-to-late adulthood. Multilevel growth curve models reveal both different starting points and different life course trajectories for blacks and whites in neighborhood economic status and neighborhood racial composition. Among respondents who first established an independent household during the 1970s, improvement in neighborhood income over the adult life course was substantially greater for white than for black respondents; the racial difference in the percentage of neighbors who were non-Hispanic white narrowed slightly with age. Racial differences in the characteristics of neighborhoods inhabited during adolescence help explain racial differences in starting points and, to a lesser extent, subsequent trajectories of neighborhood attainment. Residing in an economically advantaged neighborhood during adolescence confers greater subsequent benefits in neighborhood economic status for white than for black respondents. We use these findings to begin developing a life course perspective on neighborhood attainment.

Influence of Proximity to Kin on Residential Mobility and Destination Choice: Examining Local Movers in Metropolitan Areas

A growing body of research has examined how family dynamics shape residential mobility, highlighting the social—as opposed to economic—drivers of mobility. However, few studies have examined kin ties as both push and pull factors in mobility processes or revealed how the influence of kin ties on mobility varies across sociodemographic groups. Using data on local residential moves from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) from 1980 to 2013, we find that location of noncoresident kin influences the likelihood of moving out of the current neighborhood and the selection of a new destination neighborhood. Analyses of out-mobility reveal that parents and young adult children living near each other as well as low-income adult children living near parents are especially deterred from moving. Discrete-choice models of neighborhood selection indicate that movers are particularly drawn to neighborhoods close to aging parents, white and higher-income households tend to move close to parents and children, and lower-income households tend to move close to extended family. Our results highlight the social and economic trade-offs that households face when making residential mobility decisions, which have important implications for broader patterns of inequality in residential attainment.

Racial Differences in Neighborhood Attainment: The Contributions of Interneighborhood Migration and In Situ Change

Recent research shows that as they age, blacks experience less improvement than whites in the socioeconomic status of their residential neighborhoods. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and U.S. decennial censuses, we assess the relative contribution of residential mobility and in situ neighborhood change (i.e., change surrounding nonmobile neighborhood residents) to the black-white difference in changes in neighborhood socioeconomic status and racial composition. Results from decomposition analyses show that the racial difference in in situ neighborhood change explains virtually all the black-white difference in neighborhood socioeconomic status change. In contrast, racial differences in residential mobility explain the bulk of the black-white difference in neighborhood racial compositional change. Among blacks and whites initially residing in low-income and predominantly minority neighborhoods, whites experience a much greater increase than blacks in the socioeconomic status of their neighborhoods and the percentage of their neighbors who are non-Hispanic white. These differences are driven primarily by racial differences in the economic and racial composition of local (intracounty) movers’ destination neighborhoods and secondarily by black-white differences in the likelihood of moving long distances.

Risk and Protective Factors for Depressive Symptoms Among African American Men: An Application of the Stress Process Model

Objectives This study employs the stress process model (SPM) to identify risk/protective factors for mental health among adult African American men. Method Using a community-based sample of Miami, FL residents linked to neighborhood Census data, this study identifies risk/protective factors for depressive symptomatology using a sample of 248 adult African American men. Results The stress process variables independently associated with depressive symptoms were family support, mastery, self-esteem, chronic stressors, and daily discrimination. While mastery and self-esteem mediated the relationship between neighborhood income and depressive symptoms, perceived family support served as a buffer for stress exposure. Collectively, the SPM explains nearly half of the variability in depressive symptoms among African American men. Discussion The SPM is a useful conceptual framework for identifying psychosocial risk/protective factors and directing health initiatives and policies aimed at improving the psychological health of African American men.

Moving for Opportunities? Changing Patterns of Migration in North America

The United States and Canada are historically two of the most highly mobile populations in the world. Ever-evolving patterns of migration have continually shaped and reshaped demographic, social, and economic dynamics in North America while also being impacted by them. Over time, data describing migration patterns have grown more sophisticated, but a comprehensive theory of migration remains elusive. In this chapter, we utilize rich data from the census and supplemental national surveys to describe historical and contemporary patterns of geographic mobility in North America. In addition, we assess the interaction of the migration processes with broader social dynamics with the aim of pushing forward the theoretical frameworks for understanding geographic mobility. We argue that despite the wide recognition by migration scholars that people move for a variety of reasons, analyses of North American migration patterns have been dominated by economic explanations. In contrast, we describe how major migration and residential mobility patterns through North American history – including westward expansion, urbanization, The Great Migration, regional decentralization, and suburbanization – can be better understood by employing both economic and non-economic explanations.

A Conceptual Matrix of the Temporal and Spatial Dimensions of Socioeconomic Status and Their Relationship with Health

Objectives In this study, we (a) draw on fundamental cause theory, the life course perspective, and neighborhood effects to develop conceptual matrix of socioeconomic status (SES) by temporal and spatial dimensions in order to highlight the multidimensional ways in which SES relates to general health, and then (b) assess the multidimensional ways in which income (as a measure of SES) is related to disability in adulthood. Methods Data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics were linked with Census data to assess (a) which temporal and spatial dimensions of income were associated with disability in adulthood, and (b) whether the various components of income interact with each other when predicting disability. Results Negative binomial regression results indicated both 1970 and 2013 household income were associated with lower levels of disabilities in adulthood, as was 2013 neighborhood-level income, but 1970 neighborhood-level income was not associated with disability in adulthood. Further, 4 of the 6 possible interactions between the multiple dimensions of income were associated with significant reductions in adult disability. Discussion These findings provide several important empirical insights, but also help inform a framework for thinking about the multidimensional ways in which SES relates to health.

A Decomposition of Trends in Blacks’ and Whites’ Exposure to Other-Race Neighbors, 2001-2011: EXPOSURE TO OTHER-RACE NEIGHBORS, 2001−2011

Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and two U.S. decennial censuses, we describe trends in blacks’ and whites’ exposure to other–race neighbors between 2001 and 2011 and then identify the proximate sources of these trends. Our results show that whites experienced an increase in their exposure to black and other minority neighbors and a concurrent decrease in same–race neighbors. Blacks’ exposure to both black and white neighbors declined somewhat between 2001 and 2011, while their exposure to nonblack minority neighbors increased substantially. Decomposition analysis reveals that increases in whites’ exposure to black neighbors were driven primarily by in situ neighborhood change (i.e., by change surrounding nonmobile neighborhood residents), and only secondarily by shifting patterns of migration to neighborhoods containing more blacks and fewer whites. Changes in blacks’ exposure to white neighbors were shaped by two countervailing forces. While the neighborhoods inhabited by non–mobile blacks became relatively less black and more white, residentially mobile blacks were increasingly moving to neighborhoods that were more black and less white. Increases in blacks’ and whites’ neighborhood ethnoracial diversity were driven almost entirely by in situ changes around nonmobile blacks and whites.