Why Black‐Majority Neighbourhoods Are The Epicentre Of Population Shrinkage In The American Rust Belt

Jason Hackworth

Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 2021, vol. 112, issue 1, 44-61

Abstract: Despite a clear association between the most African‐American neighbourhoods and overall population shrinkage in Rust Belt cities, few have explored the theoretical challenges that this poses. First, if racial prejudice is the key ingredient for this relationship, why would this result in overall population loss and not simply a reduction of White residents? Second, why if stigmatisation generates the pre‐conditions for in‐migration and investment – as the gentrification and urban ecologies literatures suggest – why would Black neighbourhoods not be the epicentre of population growth? This paper explores these questions through a theoretical synthesis of the residential choice, shrinking cities, and racial prejudice literatures. I rely on an intra‐city examination of neighbourhood change in Cleveland, Detroit and Pittsburgh. I argue that three factors in shrinking Rust Belt cities limit the application of more general neighbourhood change paradigms: (i) the persistence of racial prejudice; (ii) abundant housing supply; and (iii) housing stock characteristics.

Date: 2021
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