Race/Ethnic Segregation of Routine Activity Spaces among Urban Neighborhood Residents: A Multilevel Network Approach

Christopher Browning, Ohio State University
Catherine Calder, Ohio State University

We examine competing hypotheses regarding the role of race/ethnic residential integration in shaping the integration of residents’ routine activity spaces. The “contact” hypothesis suggests that residents of differing race/ethnicity will be more likely to share routine activity locations as neighborhood race/ethnic integration increases. Alternatively, Putnam argues that race/ethnic integration promotes distrust and avoidance across race/ethnic groups. Using data on 65 census tracts from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Study (L.A.FANS), we fit multilevel P2 network models to dyadic tie data (shared locations among sampled households) to examine whether (1) racial/ethnic homophily in dyads increases the likelihood of sharing an activity location; (2) the effect of racial/ethnic homophily on activity location sharing varies across neighborhoods; and (3) residential integration moderates the impact of racial/ethnic homophily on sharing activity locations. Preliminary models indicate that activity space sorting by race/ethnicity occurs among households above and beyond residential spatial propinquity.