Spatial Redistribution of Race after Natural Hazards in U.S. Metropolitan Areas

You are here: Homepage > Search

Spatial Redistribution of Race after Natural Hazards in U.S. Metropolitan Areas

Lee, Dalbyul

This study examines the short-term and long-term spatial redistribution processes of racial groups after natural hazards. It hypothesizes that racial spatial redistribution results after a natural hazard and that it may be different based on the racial group and the type of communities within a metropolitan area. Using a longitudinal data model that employs historical and multilevel analysis, it traces the racial changes that were brought about immediately after a hazard or several decades later, considering historical change patterns by community type. The results show that natural hazards have a differential effect based on race and these differences again show discrepancies depending on the type of community. Changes in the African American and Hispanic populations after the natural hazards are prominent across metropolitan areas. These groups, which moved to the outskirts of the metropolitan area immediately after the hazard, tended to concentrate again in the centers in the long term. The ultimate result was that racial diversity was reduced across metropolitan areas.