Segregation and neighborhood quality: Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians in the San Francisco metropolitan area

In this article we examine the extent to which three minority groups were able to achieve selected neighborhood social and physical outcomes in the San Francisco metropolitan area. Ecological regressions were estimated to generate elasticities that measure the relative abilities of blacks, Hispanics, and Asians to convert education and income into desirable neighborhood environments. These regressions were interpreted in light of substantial differences between the three groups in levels of residential segregation. Results generally indicated a black disadvantage in the process of residential achievement, but it was not as dramatic as that found in earlier studies or as great as the levels of segregation would suggest. As in prior research, education was found to be the critical variable in explaining spatial differentiation and class stratification among blacks.