Residential Distribution Patterns of Ethnic Groups and Blacks in Detroit, 1940-1970 (Indices, Segregation, Clustering; Michigan).

Research on residential distribution of ethnics and Blacks has relied heavily on the index of dissimilarity to summarize large quantities of data. Shortcomings of this index have been identified but few formal attempts have been made to study alternatives. This dissertation proposes four such alternatives: intraclass correlation, isolation index, information theory indices, and an index based on the concept of population potential. Each of the five indices is discussed conceptually and empirical results are calculated. Advantages and disadvantages of each index are discussed, especially in relation to other indices. The empirical results are based on Detroit tract data from the 1940, 1950, 1960, and 1970 Censuses. The principal result is that the choice of index should be based on the particular situation in which it is to be used. The index of dissimilarity is easy to calculate and interpret. Intraclass correlation measures the tendency of populations to cluster in homogeneous geographic units regardless of the presence of other groups. The isolation index is concerned with the probability of contact between two individuals of the same group. The information theory measures have less intuitive meaning than the other indices and do not provide additional information. The population potential index describes residential distribution more completely than the other indices but is costly because distance measures are required. Overall, substantive results confirm that Blacks, Mexicans, and "late" immigrant groups are most segrated and that assimilation is increasing over time. However, there are exceptions such as the fact that Foreign Stock population potentials tend to be larger than for the Foreign born population. It is concluded that clustering (of a group) and segregation (between two groups) are separate phenomena (albeit related) and should be so treated in research on the residential distribution of Black and ethnic groups in urban areas.PhDEthnic studiesBlack studiesUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/160166/1/8422270.pd