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Research Article
Open Access

The Evolution of Black Neighborhoods Since Kerner

Marcus D. Casey, Bradley L. Hardy
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences September 2018, 4 (6) 185-205; DOI: https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2018.4.6.09
Marcus D. Casey
aDavid M. Rubenstein Fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution and assistant professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Illinois at Chicago
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Bradley L. Hardy
bAssociate professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at American University
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Abstract

This article studies the evolution of African American neighborhoods since the publication of the groundbreaking Kerner Commission report in 1968. We first examine how black and riot-affected neighborhoods evolved in four representative cities—Detroit, Newark, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.—during this period. Among black neighborhoods in these cities, we find that black neighborhoods not directly affected by riots fare better but trend similar to those that were. Notably, a number of disparities the commission identified as policy priorities—such as relatively lower income, higher poverty, and higher unemployment—persist despite declines in racist attitudes, extreme segregation, and an increased suburbanization of blacks. Fifty years after its publication, these findings suggest that the concerns of the Kerner Commission report remain relevant.

  • neighborhoods
  • urban economic development
  • race
  • Kerner Commission
  • riots
  • © 2018 Russell Sage Foundation. Casey, Marcus D., and Bradley L. Hardy. 2018. “The Evolution of Black Neighborhoods Since Kerner.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 4(6): 185–205. DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2018.4.6.09. We thank the editors and three anonymous reviewers for helpful comments that improved the paper. We also thank William Collins for allowing us access to a subset of the Collins and Margo tract-level data on riot locations for use in this study. Finally, we would like to acknowledge the seminar participants at the Russell Sage Foundation and the Institute on Research on Race and Public Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago. Direct correspondence to: Marcus D. Casey at mcasey{at}brookings.edu, 1775 Massachusetts Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036; and Bradley L. Hardy at hardy{at}american.edu, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20016.

Open Access Policy: RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences is an open access journal. This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

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RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences: 4 (6)
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
Vol. 4, Issue 6
1 Sep 2018
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The Evolution of Black Neighborhoods Since Kerner
Marcus D. Casey, Bradley L. Hardy
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences Sep 2018, 4 (6) 185-205; DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2018.4.6.09

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The Evolution of Black Neighborhoods Since Kerner
Marcus D. Casey, Bradley L. Hardy
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences Sep 2018, 4 (6) 185-205; DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2018.4.6.09
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  • Article
    • Abstract
    • DATA
    • HOW FAR HAVE WE COME? THE EVOLUTION OF BLACK AND RIOT-AFFECTED NEIGHBORHOODS
    • IMPLICATIONS FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: BLACK NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE CHANGING CITY
    • RACIAL SORTING AND ACCESS TO HIGH AMENITY NEIGHBORHOODS
    • DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
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Keywords

  • neighborhoods
  • urban economic development
  • race
  • Kerner Commission
  • riots

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