The effects of racial ecological segregation on quality of life: A comparison of middle class blacks and middle class whites in Chicago

This research calls renewed attention to the fact that for most middle class blacks, social mobility has not translated into spatial mobility. Because of residential segregation, most middle class blacks, even those who make it to the suburbs, are often forced to live adjacent or in close proximity to poverty areas. This study investigates whether geographical proximity to concentrations of poverty decreases quality of life for middle class blacks relative to middle class whites. Three causal models of quality of life are evaluated for middle class black and middle class white residents of four Chicago middle class communities. Multi-level models are estimated in order to separate individual and contextual effects, and their importance in assessing quality of life. Non-economic (subjective) measures are used for the dependent and the various individual level independent variables. Contextual effects are first measured by dummy variables, and then by interval level variables. Multiple regression analysis is used to estimate separate equations for middle class whites and middle class blacks. The results show that geographical proximity, measured as an interval level variable, is a significant predictor of quality of life for both middle class whites and middle class blacks. However, the impact of proximity on quality of life appears slightly greater for middle class blacks compared to middle class whites. Additionally, the results indicate that both individual and contextual factors operate for middle class whites and middle class blacks, and operate differently for both groups. For example, individual socioeconomic status is a significant predictor of middle class white quality of life but not middle class black. Overall, the results demonstrate that economic indicators by themselves are not sufficient to assess middle class black quality of life. It appears that place of residence may be more important than socioeconomic status to understanding middle class black quality of life. Moreover, the findings show that race is still an important factor in the determination of American quality of life.