Political Fragmentation and Its Effects on Residential Segregation

Abstract

In this thesis, I investigate the relationship between black-white residential segregation in U.S. metropolitan areas, and the amount of political fragmentation within the metro area. Using the dissimilarity index calculated by metropolitan statistical area (MSA) at the census track level as a measure of segregation and measures of fragmentation based on ‘places’ as defined by the U.S. Census, I perform multivariate regression analyses to ascertain the strength and relationship fragmentation has on segregation. In addition, I analyze the inclusion of alternative measures of segregation and fragmentation for comparative purposes. The results indicate that while the effect of fragmentation can vary depending on operationalization used there is a mild to moderate relationship between dissimilarity and political fragmentation, thus indicating that higher levels of political fragments in an MSA are associated with higher levels of residential segregation. Some measures of fragmentation proved to be more fruitful than others but reaffirm for all measures of segregation that higher levels of political fragmentation are associated with residential segregation.