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.html

ANN ARBOR— Living in cities with high levels of
racial segregation is linked to higher death rates for
whites as well as Blacks, according to a study in the
current issue of Sociological Forum.

For the study, researchers at the University of
Michigan and the University of California at Berkeley
examined the link between residential segregation and
mortality in 107 U.S. cities with a population of at least
100,000 and a Black population of at least 10 percent.

Leading the list of segregated cities are Atlanta,
Ga.; Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Mich.; Chicago, Ill.; and
Gary, Ind. The least segregated cities, as measured by the
index of Black social isolation used in the study, are
Sacramento, Calif.; Long Beach, Calif.; Virginia Beach,
Va.; Tacoma, Wash.; and Aurora, Colo.. (See accompanying
table for full ranking of 107 cities.)

In Atlanta, Ga., for example, the death rate (per
100,000 population) for Black males is 1,369.2 and for
white males 895.6, while in Aurora, Colo., the death rate
for Black males is 397.6 and for white males 177.7.

“It’s not that living next to someone of your own race
is bad for your health,” says Chiquita Collins, the
Berkeley scholar who is the first author of the paper.

“The problem is the concentration of poverty and
disadvantage associated with high levels of segregation.”
The co-author of the paper is David R. Williams,
senior research scientist at the U-M Institute for Social Research and professor of sociology.

Collins and Williams found that the effect of
segregation on mortality varied by cause of death, with
deaths from cancer most strongly linked to levels of
segregation.

Approximately one-third of the cities studied had
extreme levels of Black isolation, and in these cities,
mortality rates among both Black and white residents were
especially high, from all causes.

“Racial residential segregation has long been known to
adversely affect the quality of life for Blacks,” says
Williams. “This study adds to a small but growing body of
research showing that it also increases susceptibility to
illness and death, not only for Blacks but also for whites.

“This finding is important because it suggests that
the poor living conditions associated with very high levels
of segregation are costly for the entire society.”

The study was funded by the National Institute of
Mental Health, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur
Foundation, and the University of Illinois at Chicago.