Asymmetric segregation

Date and country of first publication^[1]

1982
United States

Definition

Both voluntary and involuntary forces commonly contribute to the residential segregation between groups. For the most part, the contribution of each dimension has not been determined. Instead, researchers operate as if one or the other force is operating. In the United States, for example, black-white segregation is assumed to be imposed by whites on blacks, as if the latter were themselves totally indifferent to the racial composition in their areas of residence. On the other hand, it is assumed that segregation between white ethnic groups is, at present, purely a voluntary matter. In an earlier period, it was assumed that their segregation was voluntary (reflecting desires to be among compatriots) and involuntary (reflecting the imposition of restrictions on residential movement by other groups and economic forces). However, it has not been possible for investigators to determine the relative importance of each factor. The relative importance of voluntary and involuntary forces operates to generate different levels of segregation, e.g., in Black, Anglo, and Spanish residential patterns. ^[2] (Lieberson and Carter, 1982).

The literature also addresses this segregation form as "asymmetrical segregation".

References

Notes

↑ Date and country of first publication as informed by the Scopus database (December 2023).
↑ Lieberson S., Carter D.K. (1982). A Model for Inferring the Voluntary and involuntary causes of residential segregation. Demography, 19(4), 511-526. https://doi.org/10.2307/2061016

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