Has exurban growth enabled greater racial equity neighborhood quality? Evidence from the los angeles region

A wealth of data drawn from cities and their nearby suburbs show that, consistent with place stratification theory, African Americans live poorer quality communities than similarly affluent members of other racial groups. Yet, few have examined whether these trends are playing out the rapidly growing exurbs, places that emerged the post-Civil Rights era. Through a case study of African American migration to Los Angeles's exurban Inland Empire, this article tests the applicability of place stratification theory by triangulating evidence from interviews with 70 movers with U.S. Census and American Community Survey data. Both sources reveal that the gap neighborhood conditions among similar income racial groups is much narrower the exurbs than inner city Los Angeles or its nearby suburbs, an outcome that participants attributed to the region's rapid housing construction, relative lack of a history of who lives where, and resulting neighborhood diversity.