Race and ethnicity in housing: turnover in New York City, 1978-1987

This study examines the patterns and predictors of housing turnovers among non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, Puerto Ricans, and other Hispanics in New York City during 1978-1987 to assess whether access to housing is distributed differentially by race and ethnicity. The data are taken from the triennial New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey. After controlling for household preferences, purchasing power, and quality characteristics of the housing unit, multinomial logistic regression results show the most consistent and significant predictors of turnover to be geographic and market-sector attributes. The findings suggest the presence of structural constraints in the housing market which effectively channel racial/ethnic groups to separate neighborhoods. The overall results are reminiscent of early studies of neighborhood transition by Duncan and Duncan (1957) and Taeuber and Taeuber (1965), and show that little progress has been made toward achieving equality in housing or informal social contact between racial/ethnic groups.