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Racial Residential Segregation in the Kansas City Area Among Blacks and Hispanics: a Comparative Analysis a Dissertation in Publ

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Racial Residential Segregation in the Kansas City Area Among Blacks and Hispanics: a Comparative Analysis a Dissertation in Publ RACIAL RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION IN THE KANSAS CITY AREA AMONG BLACKS AND HISPANICS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS A DISSERTATION IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND ADMINISTRATION and ECONOMICS Presented to the Faculty of the University Of Missouri-Kansas City in partial fulfillment of The requirements of the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By KEITH KELLY M.A. University of Missouri-Columbia, 1994 B.A., University of Central Missouri, 1982 Kansas City, Missouri 2011 © 2011 KEITH KELLY ALL RIGHTS RESERVED RACIAL RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION IN THE KANSAS CITY AREA AMONG BLACKS AND HISPANICS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS Keith Kelly, Candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree University of Missouri-Kansas City, 2011 ABSTRACT There is considerable literature on racial residential segregation but there are few examples that examine similarities and differences between two ethnic groups within an urban area. Racial residential segregation among blacks and Hispanics in the Kansas City area is examined using two methodologies. One is an historical and cultural methodology that utilizes a theory of culture to explain differences. The second is a statistical methodology that uses data from the 1990 and 2000 U.S. Censuses. The culture theory is predicated upon three axes of a cultural framework: philosophical rationalism versus philosophical skepticism, idealism vs. materialism and the individual as an abstract entity versus the social individual as a unit of analysis. Theories of change and spatial theory are also components of this cultural theory, and the culture theory is also applied to study developers, government, and majority population. Statistical differences are explored using dissimilarity indices and isolation indices and differences between the two ethnic groups are analyzed through Mann-Whitney U tests. The design for the statistical analysis is based on (1) gradients of density, density growth population growth, and linguistic isolation gradients, and (2) an analysis of city and county areas. iii It is found that the cultural framework is very useful in analyzing differences between blacks and Hispanics and understanding the development of policy. First, policy supports real estate developers in developing profitable and “ideal” communities in the Kansas City region. Secondly, black and Hispanic communities differ in the functions provided to their members. They historically have had a different level and type of contact with the majority population. Policy affects all groups, but is primarily directed toward blacks due to their proximity to majority neighborhoods and associated pressures on housing and labor markets. With the decline of manufacturing in the inner city and lack of minority access to suburbs, residential housing segregation has further deleterious effects on minorities. More recently minorities have increased their presence in the suburbs; patterns relating to indices and income characteristics in high growth areas are strongest for blacks and either very weak or mixed for Hispanics. iv APPROVAL PAGE The faculty listed below, appointed by the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, have examined a dissertation titled “Racial Residential Segregation in the Kansas City Area: A Comparative Study Between Blacks and Hispanics,” presented by Keith Kelly, candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree, and certify that in their opinion it is worthy of acceptance. Supervisory Committee Robyne S. Turner, Ph.D. Committee Co-Chair Department of Public Policy & Administration, Rutgers University-Camden Nicholas Peroff, Ph.D., Committee Co-Chair Henry W. Bloch School of Management Mathew Forstater, Ph.D. Department of Economics Robert D. Herman, Ph.D. Henry W. Bloch School of Management Joseph F. Singer, Ph.D. Henry W. Bloch School of Management James Sturgeon, Ph.D. Department of Economics v CONTENTS ABSTRACT..............................................................................................................iii ILLUSTRATIONS..................................................................................................xiii TABLES..................................................................................................................xiv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS........................................................................................ xv CHAPTER 1. HOUSING AND SEGREGATION IN KANSAS CITY: A COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF TWO MINORITY GROUPS .............. 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1 Purpose of the Research ..................................................................... 1 Organization of the Study .................................................................. 4 Study Parameters................................................................................ 6 Longitudinal Parameters and History....................................... 6 Geographical Area.................................................................... 7 Approaches and Concepts: Theoretical Orientations ........................ 7 Segregation and the Urban System .......................................... 7 Markets, Culture and Policy..................................................... 9 Culture.................................................................................... 10 Urban Space Theory............................................................... 11 Data and Sources............................................................................. 12 Census Data............................................................................ 12 Review of the Literature ..................................................................................... 13 Policy: Policies of Private Entities .................................................. 15 vi Policy: Public Policies..................................................................... 20 The Sociology of Racial Residential Segregation............................ 28 Literature Review Conclusions ........................................................ 30 Methodology ....................................................................................................... 30 Qualitative Methods ......................................................................... 30 Quantitative and Spatial Methods .................................................... 31 Conclusion........................................................................................................... 31 2. CULTURE AND EXPLANATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCE AND POLICY: AN EXAMINATION OF THEORETICAL UNDERCURRENTS AND ARCHITECTURES........................................... 32 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 32 The Culture Concept: Components and Approaches .......................................... 33 Architecture of the Model ................................................................................... 36 Axis I: Rationalism, Skepticism and the Nature of Things............. 36 Philosophical Rationalism and Dualism ................................ 36 Critiques of Rationalism (and Dualism)................................. 39 Skepticism and Monism ......................................................... 41 Critiques of Skepticism (and Monism) .................................. 43 The Argument for Skepticism................................................ 44 Axis II: Idealism, Materialism and the Prime Movers Debate........ 47 Idealism .................................................................................. 48 Critiques of Idealism .............................................................. 52 Materialism............................................................................. 54 vii Policy, Politics and Materialism............................................. 65 Markers and Levers................................................................ 70 Eclecticism ............................................................................. 72 Critiques of Materialism: Debates Over Categorizations and Classifications .................................... 73 The Argument for Materialism .............................................. 77 Eight Points Regarding Resistance to Materialism................ 84 Axis III: Abstract Individuals and Societal Individuals in Social Analysis........................................................... 86 Abstract Individuals ............................................................... 86 Societal Individuals ................................................................ 88 Abstract Individuals, Societal Individuals and Policy ........... 91 Axis IV: Models of Cultural Change ............................................... 95 Equilibrium............................................................................. 95 Punctuated Equilibrium.......................................................... 97 Evolution ................................................................................ 98 Dialectics................................................................................ 99 Chaos Theory ....................................................................... 101 The Unified Model ........................................................................................... 102 Nuances of the Model ...................................................................................... 102 Theory Context: Social Stratification, Uneven Development and Politics...... 106 Power and Top-Down Policymaking .............................................
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