{"id":70049,"date":"2017-03-20T05:43:35","date_gmt":"2017-03-20T10:43:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/?p=70049"},"modified":"2017-03-20T07:03:39","modified_gmt":"2017-03-20T12:03:39","slug":"racial-and-educational-segregation-in-the-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/2017\/03\/20\/racial-and-educational-segregation-in-the-u-s\/","title":{"rendered":"Racial and Educational Segregation in the U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"

Where you grow up is consequential. It plays a critical role in shaping who you are likely to become. Where you live affects your future earnings, how much education you’re likely to receive, how long you live, and much more.<\/p>\n

Sociologists who study this are interested in the concentrated accumulations of specific types and qualities of capital (economic, cultural, social) found in abundance in certain locations, less in more, and virtually absent in some. And, as inequalities intersect with one another, marginalization tends to pile up. For instance, those areas of the U.S. that are disproportionately Black and Latino are also areas struggling economically (see Dustin A. Cable’s racial dot map of the U.S.<\/a>). Similarly, those areas of the country with the least upward mobility<\/a> are also areas with some of the highest proportions of households of people of color. And, perhaps not shockingly (although it should be), schools in these areas receive fewer resources and have lower outcomes for students.<\/p>\n

How much education you receive is, in part, a result of where you grow up. Think about it: you’re be more likely to end up with at least a bachelor’s degree if you grow up in an area where almost everyone is at least college educated. It’s not a requirement, but it’s more likely. And, if you do and go on to live in a similar community and have children, your kids will benefit from you carrying on that cycle as well. Of course, this system of advantages works in reverse for communities with lower levels of educational attainment.<\/p>\n

Recently, a geography professor, Kyle Walker, mapped educational attainment in the U.S.<\/a> Inspired by Cable’s map of racial segregation, Walker visualizes educational inequality in the U.S. from a bird’s eye view. And when we compare Walker’s map of educational attainment to Cable’s map of racial segregation, you can see how inequalities tend to accumulate.<\/p>\n

Below, I’ve displayed paired images of a selection of U.S. cities using both maps. In each image, the top map illustrates educational attainment and the bottom visualizes race.<\/span><\/p>\n