Racial dot map of the US. 1 dot per person, color-coded by race

[Cirrus]

I was going to post this as a reply to this thread, but honestly it's better as a top-level thing. It's probably been posted before (the data is now 11 years old), but what the hell.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THIS EXTREMELY COOL MAP

It's interactive. You can zoom in & out, just like Google Maps.

Here are a few interesting things:

Looking at Detroit, you can see the extreme white/black segregation:


All images are screencaps from the Weldon Cooper Center's Racial Dot Map


Houston by comparison has a lot more mixing:




The uptown area in particular:




LA. The Valley looks like the most diverse part, maybe?




I'm hesitant to post New York, because if you go to the real map and zoom in, it's more integrated than it looks here. Especially Manhattan. I wonder if that will still be true if we get similar maps for 2020.




DC. You can see how the city core and parts of the suburbs are white/black segregated, while a broad stretch of suburbia north and west is extraordinarily diverse. You can also see how the monumental core is a weird donut hole in the city, exactly where you'd expect it to be most dense.





What do you see?

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

LA. The Valley looks like the most diverse part, maybe?

I'm not sure how you're defining "diverse." Diverse, as in racial integration next-door neighbor diverse, or diverse in the sense that there are whole areas of one kind of race next to whole areas of another kind of race?

To me, the LA Basin is more diverse, this being a closeup of LA west of downtown:


The San Fernando Valley isn't as diverse (fewer Blacks and Asians):


And in the center is where I live, South Pasadena, which is northeast of downtown LA, and in the western San Gabriel Valley, which I consider to be pretty diverse:


And of course this is all just where people resided in 2010; this doesn't show where the different people work, have fun, congregate, shop, etc. So in those areas, you also see diversity, probably even more, because all races tend to shop/have fun at the same activity centers... well, generally speaking. I admit that not EVERYBODY goes to the Slauson Swap Meet, or the Horchateria in Paramount, but I don't see why everybody shouldn't.

[ChrisLA]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

I'm not sure how you're defining "diverse." Diverse, as in racial integration next-door neighbor diverse, or diverse in the sense that there are whole areas of one kind of race next to whole areas of another kind of race?

The San Fernando Valley isn't as diverse (fewer Blacks and Asians):


And in the center is where I live, South Pasadena, which is northeast of downtown LA, and in the western San Gabriel Valley, which I consider to be pretty diverse:

This map does not show all of the San Fernando Valley especially the southern end by Woodland Hills, Encino, Tarzana, Studio City etc. The southern end, and especially the west valley is very ethnic white, Jewish, Persians, and Armenians, a lot of Kim Kardashian types but not as rich, more like fake rich. Anyway the map shows a lot of the interior parts which are mostly Hispanic or Latino.

In my opinion from what I’ve seen living in both the San Fernando Valley and San Gabriel Valley, there are more Black people in the San Fernando Valley, we just don’t have any large black neighborhoods as most live among the other races. What we do lack is a huge Asian population in the San Fernando Valley. Also good Asian food is hard to fine over here, I truly believe the San Gabriel Valley has better Mexican and Asian food. Now if you’re looking for Armenian, Mediterranean and Persian cuisine than that everywhere here in the SFV.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by ChrisLA

This map does not show all of the San Fernando Valley especially the southern end by Woodland Hills Encino Tarzana studio city etc. The southern end, and especially the west valley is very ethnic white, Jewish, Persians, and Armenians, a lot of Kim Kardashian types but not as rich, most like fake rich. Anyway the map shows a lot of the interior parts which are mostly Hispanic or Latino.

In my opinion from what I’ve seen living in both the San Fernando Valley and San Gabriel Valley, there are more Black people in the San Fernando Valley, we just don’t have any large black neighborhoods as most live among the other races. What we do lack is a huge Asian population in the San Fernando Valley. Also good Asian food is hard to fine over here, I truly believe the San Gabriel Valley has better Mexican and Asian food. Now if you’re looking for Armenian, Mediterranean and Persian cuisine than that everywhere here in the SFV.

I don't agree Asian food is bad in the SFV. Some of the best Indian in the metro is in Winnekta, where there is a sizeable Indian population. The SFV is far more interesting than people give it credit for, people just constantly compare to central and West LA, which isn't really fair. But it is what it is. There's stretches of restaurant corridors with countless cusines on them, I would think only Queens or something is comparable. But tourists wouldn't really notice this, as these aren't in tourists areas.

The black population is peppered around the Valley. It's not one neighborhood per se. I'd say they're intergerated into white/hispanic areas.

[ChrisLA]

Originally Posted by LA21st

I don't agree Asian food is bad in the SFV. Some of the best Indian in the metro is in Winnekta, where there is a sizeable Indian population. The SFV is far more interesting than people give it credit for, people just constantly compare to central and West LA, which isn't really fair. But it is what it is. There's stretches of restaurant corridors with countless cusines on them, I would think only Queens or something is comparable. But tourists wouldn't really notice this, as these aren't in tourists areas.

The black population is peppered around the Valley. It's not one neighborhood per se. I'd say they're intergerated into white/hispanic areas.

No offense, I wasn’t including Indian food when I spoke about Asian food. I was mainly focusing on Chinese, Japanese, and Thai which I think the SFV falls short. I can’t comment on Indian food since I don’t eat enough of it to say one way or the other.

I agree the SFV is more interesting than people give it credit for, even I found myself not yearning as much to cross over the hill to see things in the basin. What we do lack are large cultural museums, but again that would be the same as any large American city where typically these are in the central part of the city. We also have a lot going on in North Hollywood, and even Studio City, but then west LA and even Hollywood in a sense is easier to reach from Woodland Hills. I’ve been in the valley for almost seven years now, and I am good with living here there is definitely a lot of diversity here and it’s very much culturally LA city in style.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by ChrisLA

No offense, I wasn’t including Indian food when I spoke about Asian food. I was mainly focusing on Chinese, Japanese, and Thai which I think the SFV falls short. I can’t comment on Indian food since I don’t eat enough of it to say one way or the other.

I agree the SFV is more interesting than people give it credit for, even I found myself not yearning as much to cross over the hill to see things in the basin. What we do lack are large cultural museums, but again that would be the same as any large American city where typically these are in the central part of the city. We also have a lot going on in North Hollywood, and even Studio City, but then west LA and even Hollywood in a sense is easier to reach from Woodland Hills. I’ve been in the valley for almost seven years now, and I am good with living here there is definitely a lot of diversity here and it’s very much culturally LA city in style.

Universal city-Studio city-sherrman oaks-Encino is a pretty cool corridor. While Encino is less walkable than the former, it's still packed with amenities and one of the better areas In the metro. It's probably has the most office midrises in the sfv as well. I used to work there for a few years, now I'm In downtown burbank, which also has a ton of amenities.

I love Studio city and Sherman oaks.. its's become one of my favorite neighborhoods anywhere. Parts of it remind me of Andersonville in Chicago, just newer.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by ChrisLA

This map does not show all of the San Fernando Valley especially the southern end by Woodland Hills, Encino, Tarzana, Studio City etc. The southern end, and especially the west valley is very ethnic white, Jewish, Persians, and Armenians, a lot of Kim Kardashian types but not as rich, more like fake rich. Anyway the map shows a lot of the interior parts which are mostly Hispanic or Latino.

In my opinion from what I’ve seen living in both the San Fernando Valley and San Gabriel Valley, there are more Black people in the San Fernando Valley, we just don’t have any large black neighborhoods as most live among the other races. What we do lack is a huge Asian population in the San Fernando Valley. Also good Asian food is hard to fine over here, I truly believe the San Gabriel Valley has better Mexican and Asian food. Now if you’re looking for Armenian, Mediterranean and Persian cuisine than that everywhere here in the SFV.

My bad; I guess in my trying to fill the whole image with the SFV, I cut off the southern part. Here's the whole San Fernando Valley in the center, with Glendale in the lower right corner (I'm still at odds deciding whether Glendale is part of the SFV or not). And then there's Simi Valley in the upper left corner (which of course is not part of the SFV).



Yes, the southern edge of the SFV is white/ethnic white. For many decades, lots of TV industry and some film industry folk lived/live there too. Growing up, I had childhood friends who lived in Woodland Hills and Canoga Park. Canoga Park for a long time has had a big Hispanic population.

Definitely good esoteric Persian food can be found in the SFV. I've heard that there's good African food to be found in the SFV as well, and I have yet to try those. I've already had good Nigerian food in Inglewood; I somehow find Inglewood/the South Bay more convenient to drive to for me, but I definitely want to try some of the African places in the SFV.

Have you been to the Thai Buddhist Temple in North Hollywood? People rave about their Thai food. I've been to that temple, but I haven't had their food. I had good Thai food in a strip mall near the temple, though, but it's already been a number of years since I've been there, and I don't know if the pandemic has affected being able to visit the temple. Thai Town has really good food, and it's closer to me than North Hollywood, so that's why I don't really go into NoHo. Many years ago though, I had a friend who lived there, so I would go there often. There's also a Sri Lankan restaurant in Tarzana, which I've only been to once. I thought the food was good, but the better Sri Lankan place was a restaurant in La Crescenta, but it has closed. :/

[ilcapo]

Are there any 250k + cities in the US with a majority white inner-city and a mixed outer-city/outskirts/suburbs like a lot of Western European cities?

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by ilcapo

Are there any 250k + cities in the US with a majority white inner-city and a mixed outer-city/outskirts/suburbs like a lot of Western European cities?

San Francisco

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by ilcapo

Are there any 250k + cities in the US with a majority white inner-city and a mixed outer-city/outskirts/suburbs like a lot of Western European cities?

New York, maybe... if you want to consider Manhattan as the "inner city".

[ChrisLA]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

Yes, the southern edge of the SFV is white/ethnic white. For many decades, lots of TV industry and some film industry folk lived/live there too. Growing up, I had childhood friends who lived in Woodland Hills and Canoga Park. Canoga Park for a long time has had a big Hispanic population.

This my little neighborhood, as you can see it's quite diverse. There are not a lot of latinos, or black people, but it's not uncommon to see both groups in the area. At the park, it's also not unusual to hear so many different accents. What's interesting is I hear a lot of the black people in the area with either a African, or a British accent. There are definitely a lot of foreign born neighbors, from Persians, Armenians, Russians, Jews, and Indians.

I live in Woodland Hills, but the section that known as the Warner Center. I guess you can say it's considered the downtown or business district of the west SFV. There are a few modern high-rises (offices, hotels), a movie theater and two malls, one outdoor and one enclosed but they are now building a new outdoor wing to it. It's a nice area not quite suburban, but sort of urban but not like downtown Glendale, or Burbank. You can definitely walk to get to most places in 10 minutes, from Costco, Traders Joes, Whole Foods, Sprouts, Target Ralphs, Starbucks, Coffee Bean, and all in between. I really like the neighborhood, although it's rather busy and everyone is in a rush around here, I get the feeling from many of the residents, they love this area. Oh btw we have access to the the Orange Line that runs though here, so you can get to North Hollywood or to the subway to get into downtown if you want to avoid the horrible traffic on the 101. The other option is the LADOT freeway express into downtown just a few blocks away.

Have you been to the Thai Buddhist Temple in North Hollywood? People rave about their Thai food.

No I haven't been, and with the pandemic and also a 4 year old we haven't gone out much, but hopefully soon.

[pj3000]

The DC map illustrates what I was talking about in the other thread. That being, the highly diverse suburban areas of Maryland, and to a smaller extent, Virginia.

There’s no real dominance and shows how integrated the NW of DC really is.

[Quixote]

You can basically divide South Florida into two cultural regions: Miami-Dade and Broward/Palm Beach/St. Lucie Counties. In the latter three, not only are whites either a plurality or majority, but Cubans aren't far and away the dominant Latino ethnic group.

Most of South Florida definitely is culturally "Southern," only it has palms instead of pines and larger Jewish and Afro-Caribbean populations. It's Miami's prominence as a Latin American gateway that skews popular perception.

[mhays]

Those separations are pretty stark in some cities. Hopefully people experience some diversity at some point outside their enclaves.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by mhays

Those separations are pretty stark in some cities. Hopefully people experience some diversity at some point outside their enclaves.

My suburb is whiter than a Hallmark Christmas movie and I have to go into town and experience the diversity.

[ilcapo]

Out of curiosity:

Is there a specific reason why US keeps track of race or is it just out of tradition?

I know alot of the big multicultural countries such as Brazil, England and Canada does it too.

But most countries doesn't.

Especially because the US is so mixed, im having difficulties to understand why this is still relevant.

I find these maps intresting and beneficial but only for my personal interests.

[urban_encounter]

Originally Posted by ilcapo

Out of curiosity:

Is there a specific reason why US keeps track of race or is it just out of tradition?

I know alot of the big multicultural countries such as Brazil, England and Canada does it too.

But most countries doesn't.

Especially because the US is so mixed, im having difficulties to understand why this is still relevant.

Don’t worry, you’re not alone. A lot of people in the States don’t understand the constant preoccupation with race that seems to be getting worse. I live in a family with Caucasian, Hispanic, African American and Asian. As you said, “America is so mixed” and it’s what makes it a great country. But we also have a lot of government bureaucrats and politicians on both sides of the aisle that use race as wedge issues.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by urban_encounter

Don’t worry, you’re not alone. A lot of people in the States don’t understand the constant preoccupation with race that seems to be getting worse. I live in a family with Caucasian, Hispanic, African American and Asian. As you said, “America is so mixed” and it’s what makes it a great country. But we also have a lot of government bureaucrats and politicians on both sides of the aisle that use race as wedge issues.

Sacramento is one the most diverse cities in America.

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by ilcapo

Out of curiosity:

Is there a specific reason why US keeps track of race or is it just out of tradition?

I know alot of the big multicultural countries such as Brazil, England and Canada does it too.

But most countries doesn't.

Especially because the US is so mixed, im having difficulties to understand why this is still relevant.

I find these maps intresting and beneficial but only for my personal interests.

Sometimes you will meet somebody who is visiting the U.S. for the first time, especially from Asia, and they are often taken aback by how wildly eclectic pretty much everywhere is. Americans from the interior are always struck by how diverse New York City is but anywhere in the Midwest is like New York City to anyone from a country like Japan or Korea.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by ilcapo

Out of curiosity:

Is there a specific reason why US keeps track of race or is it just out of tradition?

I know alot of the big multicultural countries such as Brazil, England and Canada does it too.

But most countries doesn't.

Especially because the US is so mixed, im having difficulties to understand why this is still relevant.

I find these maps intresting and beneficial but only for my personal interests.

It's because of the Civil Rights laws that bar certain forms of discrimination on the basis of race, gender, or disabilities. They track the data to measure compliance with laws and also to detect discriminatory practices.