Race and Resources in Large American Cities

Abstract

Information on race, poverty, and socioeconomic variables for an extensive sample of neighborhoods in the 25 largest American cities was factor analyzed to examine underlying relationships. A dominant factor emerged in both central city and sub urban observation sets similar to that documented previously in certain single city ecologies and labeled "race and resources." This factor is comprised of poverty, family (dis)organization, and race variables. Examination of factor loadings and variable parameters indicates a strong association of blacks with poverty in sub urban areas despite the greater association with nucleated family structures, and provides additional support for the position that suburbanization of blacks has not changed the intrametropolitan distribution of minority economic welfare.