The “Social Science” of Segregation: Between the “Charitable” Surveys of the Progressive Era and the “Appraisal” Surveys of the New Deal Era

Abstract

Between the “charitable” surveys of the Progressive Era and the “appraisal” surveys of the New Deal Era, the field of “Social Science” emerged. Although the philanthropic surveys of the Progressive Era influenced housing reform for working-class Persons of Color in urban neighborhoods, while the federal surveys of the New Deal Era influenced real estate disinvestment in those same neighborhoods, each had the effect of furthering segregation. This article considers the commonalities among the discourses, methods, and results of these two seemingly disparate ends of the survey spectrum to illuminate their respective contributions to one another and to segregation.