NCJ Number
231954
Journal
Criminology Volume: 48 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2010 Pages: 683-724
Date Published
August 2010
Length
42 pages
Annotation
This study examined the previously found relationship between the presence of racial/ethnic minorities in a neighborhood and the rate of crime and proposed that at least some of this relationship might be because crime actually increases the percentage of minorities in a neighborhood.
Abstract
Previous research frequently has observed a positive cross-sectional relationship between racial/ethnic minorities and crime and generally has posited that this relationship is entirely because of the effect of minorities on neighborhood crime rates. This study posits that at least some of this relationship might be a result of the opposite effect; neighborhood crime increases the number of racial/ethnic minorities. This study employees a unique sample (the American Housing Survey neighborhood sample) focusing on housing units nested in microneighborhoods across three waves from 1985 to 1993. This format allows one to test and find that such racial/ethnic transformation occurs because of the following effects: First, White households that perceive more crime in the neighborhood or that live in microneighborhoods with more commonly perceived crime are more likely to move out of such neighborhoods. Second, Whites are significantly less likely to move into a housing unit in a microneighborhood with more commonly perceived crime. And third, African-American and Latino households are more likely to move into such units. Tables, references, and appendix (Published Abstract)