A new study by the conservative-leaning Manhattan Institute reports that housing segregation is at its lowest level in more than a century.
Indeed, far fewer African Americans live in neighborhoods that are predominantly black, far fewer white people live in neighborhoods that are predominantly white.
So by that measure at least, American neighborhoods are less segregated than they used to be.
But -- and you knew there would be a "but" -- that still leaves plenty of room for improvement.
Part of the problem is that our historical benchmarks are so lousy. In 1960, half of blacks lived in neighborhoods that were 80 percent black. Today, only two out of ten do. So by that measure, we're making progress.
But as the Brookings Institution's chief demographer told the New York Times, “The average black resident still lives in a neighborhood that is 45 percent black and 36 percent white. At the same time, the average white lives in a neighborhood that is 78 percent white and 7 percent black."
A lot the improvement in what were once predominantly white communities is due to the influx of Asian and Hispanic immigrants. And a lot of the improvement in formerly predominantly black communities is due to the large numbers who have moved to the Sun Belt states in recent years.
Meanwhile, people of color continue to live in poorer neighborhoods than whites with comparable incomes.
So let's celebrate progress, without getting complacent.
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