Spatial Dynamics of Racialized Income Inequality in the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Area

Abstract

This article presents findings of an analysis of the association between changes in neighborhoods’ racial composition and income inequality in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. We cluster U.S. Census data at the ward and district levels and find that the connection between race and income inequality appears potent in Washington, DC. Racially more homogeneous wards have lower income inequalities than those that are racially heterogeneous. We also show that two alternative measures of neighborhood-level racial diversity—proportion white and an entropy score—account for substantial shares in the variation in household incomes in these wards. In contrast, these patterns in the surrounding counties are less pronounced. Our analysis suggests that the U.S. capital’s growing prosperity and improved fiscal health have intensified income inequality across the DC metropolitan area especially within Washington, DC. We probe into these differences and argue that place stratification theory is helpful to understand changing neighborhood compositions in the entire Washington, DC, metropolitan area. Our results illustrate a need for more effective policy coordination across jurisdictions as well as greater consideration of housing policy to help decrease residential segregation and support vulnerable residents in and around the U.S. capital city.

针对美国华盛顿特区的城市区域, 本文分析了社区种族结构的变化与收入不平等的关系。将人口普查数据按照选区进行聚类, 发现在华盛顿特区, 种族和收入不平等存在着很强的相关性。种族相似的选区比种族差别大的选区有更低的收入不平等程度。本文还显示, 两个社区水平的种族差异评估方法（白人比例、熵值）, 能很大程度上解释选区内家庭收入的差别, 而这些模式在周边县里并不明显。分析认为, 在华盛顿特区的城市区域, 尤其是在华盛顿市, 美国首都的持续繁荣和财政改善, 强化了收入的不平等。我们研究了这些差别并认为, 住所分区理论可以帮助我们理解华盛顿特区城市区域内社区结构的变化。结果表明, 在华盛顿特区城市区域内, 需要更有效的跨行政边界的政策协调、以及对住房政策的更多考虑, 从而辅助降低居住区隔离程度、为美国首都及周边地区的弱势居民提供帮助。

En este artículo se presentan los descubrimientos de un análisis de la asociación entre los cambios de la composición racial de los barrios y la desigualdad del ingreso en el área metropolitana de Washington, DC. Agrupamos los datos del Censo de los EE.UU. a niveles de zona electoral y distrito, y hallamos que la conexión entre raza y desigualdad del ingreso se manifiesta potente en Washington, DC. Los distritos electorales más homogéneos racialmente exhiben desigualdades de ingreso más bajas que los que se caracterizan por ser racialmente heterogéneos. También mostramos que dos métricas alternativas de la diversidad racial a nivel de barrio––la proporción de blancos y un puntaje de entropía––son responsables de una parte sustancial de la variación en los ingresos familiares de esos distritos. Por contraste, en los condados de los alrededores tales patrones están menos pronunciados. Nuestro análisis sugiere que una creciente prosperidad y salud fiscal mejorada de la capital americana han intensificado la desigualdad del ingreso a través del área metropolitana del DC, aunque especialmente dentro de Washington, DC. Nosotros sondeamos estas diferencias y argüimos que la teoría de la estratificación del lugar es útil para entender las cambiantes composiciones de los barrios en toda el área metropolitana de Washington, DC. Nuestros resultados ilustran la necesidad de una coordinación política más efectiva a través de las jurisdicciones, lo mismo que una mucho mayor consideración de las políticas de vivienda para ayudar a reducir la segregación residencial y apoyar a los residentes vulnerables dentro y alrededor de la ciudad capital de los Estados Unidos.

Key Words:

• gentrification
• income inequality
• place stratification theory
• race
• Washington, DC

关键词：:

• 高档化
• 收入不平等
• 住所分区理论
• 种族
• 华盛顿特区。

Palabras clave:

• desigualdad del ingreso
• gentrificación
• raza
• teoría de la estratificación del lugar
• Washington
• DC

Acknowledgments

Background research and comments by Anne Gallagher Shannon, Audrey Velanovich, and Mukadaisi Wumaier are gratefully acknowledged. The Metropolitan Policy Center at American University provided a supportive platform to discuss many of the arguments presented in this article. We also thank Michael D. Bader, Eve Z. Bratman, Carole Gallaher, Derek Hyra, Lallen T. Johnson, David L. Pike, and Katie Wells for their feedback, and we are indebted to the editor of The Professional Geographer and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive critiques and concrete suggestions. All remaining errors are the authors’ responsibility.

Notes

1 Contrary to popular belief, the majority of federal government jobs in DC are not allocated based on political affiliation, and the population turnover in the aftermath of presidential elections is limited to a few thousand residents (Hyra 2017).

2 Although demographic data on Washington, DC’s eight administrative wards are available through a variety of sources (e.g., Comey, Narducci, Tatian 2010), we found considerable variation in the clustering of U.S. Census tracts into these wards. In response, in this article we work with U.S. Census data, which we then cluster into ward-level data based on census tracts’ geocoded locations.

3 Of the thirty-three units of analysis, four overlap with adjacent Maryland or Virginia counties: MD 21 comprises sections of both Prince George’s County and Anne Arundel County, MD 27 includes areas located in Prince George’s County and Calvert County, VA 33 traverses Fairfax County and Loudoun County, and both VA 36 and VA 39 cover areas of Fairfax County and Prince William County.

4 Only from 2000 to 2010 did the proportion of white residents in Wards 7 and 8 increase slightly due to gentrification of, and displacement from, selected neighborhoods in these two wards.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Bradley O. Erickson

BRADLEY O. ERICKSON is a Research Associate at EAB, Washington, DC 20037. E-mail: [email protected]. His current research investigates the economic influences on voting behavior, political institutions in emerging markets, and comparative political economy more broadly.

Daniel E. Esser

DANIEL E. ESSER is an Associate Professor at American University, Washington, DC 20016. E-mail: [email protected]. He is the incoming Chair of the AAG’s Development Geographies Specialty Group and the recipient of the Asian Geography Specialty Group’s 2019 Distinguished Service Award. His current research focuses on the politics of legitimation amid multiscalar governance and urban violence.

Katie L. Turner

KATIE L. TURNER is a Doctoral Student and Graduate Research Assistant in the Spatial Processes and City Environments Collaborative of the Sociology Department at Rice University, Houston, TX 77005. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research broadly focuses on queer space, collective memory, and spatial analyses of the historical legacies of slavery.