Implications of the findings

This report reveals a great variation among suburban regions in the United States. On average these areas have undergone tremendous growth in their minority populations in the last decade, in many respects mirroring the experience of central cities. But the trend is uneven.

Where blacks, Hispanics, or Asians are present in the smallest proportions, they are also least residentially segregated and least likely to develop residential enclaves in suburbia. In such cases, segregation of Asians was typically very low, and segregation of blacks and Hispanics tended to decline between 1990 and 2000, suggesting that minorities are being successfully incorporated into these communities.

Where most minority group members live, and where consequently they are a more substantial share of the suburban population, a different set of dynamics seems to come into play. Segregation is higher, more unyielding over time, and minority population growth is more likely to be associated with the creation or intensification of ethnic enclaves.

These latter trends have many implications. In the political realm, the creation of larger and residentially concentrated minority communities may presage shifts in the traditionally conservative approach to public policy supported by suburban politicians. Indeed, the old divide between urban and suburban public officials may diminish. But at the same time, the cleavages between white and minority neighborhoods are often found within municipal boundaries, or school district lines, or state or congressional political districts. The introduction of new voices within the same electoral districts will be reinforced by segregation between neighborhoods.

Other research has shown that minority suburbs tend to be poorer, less safe, and less capable of supporting quality public services. We need to ask whether minority suburbanization is accentuating divisions between successful and unsuccessful communities at the fringe of the metropolis, similar to the familiar disparities associated in much of the country with the city-suburb boundary. Residential segregation is likely to be reproduced in school segregation, and we should ask what is the quality of the educational experience in minority suburban schools. These demographic trends therefore raise political questions in two ways: whose voice will be heard, and what new issues will have to be addressed in the public arena.