Milwaukee is number one in the the list of cities with the highest black-white segregation, a recent study by the Brookings Institution shows.
Most of the areas identified as being highly segregated are in the northern parts of the country. Milwaukee, New York City, Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland lead the list.
Black-white neighborhood segregation varies widely across metropolitan areas, and has declined only modestly since the beginning of this century, the report says. “Most white residents of large metropolitan areas live in neighborhoods that remain overwhelmingly white, and while black neighborhoods have become more diverse, this is largely due to an increase in Hispanic rather than white residents,” wrote William H. Frey, the study’s author.
While the report found that black-white neighborhood segregation nationally has declined modestly since 2000, Milwaukee has not done so at the pace of other cities.
“Overall, in 45 of these 51 metro areas, black-white segregation has declined since 2000. Most only achieved modest reductions of 1 to 4 points. Yet 16 areas did show declines of 5 points or more,” Frey wrote. “Detroit led the way with a decline of nearly 12 points, and other Midwestern and Northern metro areas including Kansas City, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Chicago, Buffalo, Cleveland, and Minneapolis also posted large drops in segregation.”
