Black Suburbanization: Causes and Consequences of a Transformation of American Cities

Authors

Alexander W. Bartik, University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignFollow
Evan Mast, University of Notre DameFollow

Series

Upjohn Institute working paper ; 21-355

DOI

10.17848/wp21-355

Issue Date

November 2021, Revised July 2022, Revised January 2023, Revised August 2023

Abstract

Since 1970, the share of Black individuals living in suburbs of large cities has risen from 16 to 36 percent. This shift is as large as the post-World War II wave of the Great Migration. We first show that Black suburbanization has led to major changes in neighborhoods, accounting for a large share of recent increases in both the average Black individual’s neighborhood quality and within-Black income segregation. We then show that changes in relative suburban amenities and housing prices explain about 60 and 30 percent, respectively, of Black suburbanization, while regional reallocation, changing educational attainment, and gentrification play only minor roles.

Subject Areas

Regional collaboration; Urban issues; Transportation and infrastructure