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Segregation by Design: Local Politics and Inequality in American Cities
Segregation by Design draws on more than 100 years of quantitative and qualitative data from thousands of American cities to explore how local governments generate race and class segregation. Starting in the early twentieth century, cities have used their power of land use control to determine the location and availability of housing, amenities (such as parks), and negative land uses (such as garbage dumps). The result has been segregation - first within cities and more recently between them. Documenting changing patterns of segregation and their political mechanisms, Trounstine argues that city governments have pursued these policies to enhance the wealth and resources of white property owners at the expense of people of color and the poor. Contrary to leading theories of urban politics, local democracy has not functioned to represent all residents. The result is unequal access to fundamental local services - from schools, to safe neighborhoods, to clean water.
282 pages, Paperback
Published November 15, 2018
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November 27, 2022
Until recently, segregation in the United States was often understood through a juridical lens. In a common interpretation, the discourse on segregation was bookmarked by Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) enshrining "separate but equal" on the one hand, and Brown v. Board of Education (1954) beginning the process of integration on the other hand, followed by an ensuing seven decades where segregation was publicly and privately debated and in some quarters was assumed to have disappeared. As a subset of this conventional discourse, it was commonly assumed that Civil Rights brought an end to the “bad old days” of segregation. Where these assumptions were challenged, the thinking went that de jure segregation sanctioned by the force of law was replaced—where segregation existed at all—by de facto segregation that may exist in fact but was not officially sanctioned. Emerging out of a relatively burgeoning political science and public policy literature, the research and argument in Segregation by Design is part of a reinterpretation that challenges these conventional understandings.
As a generalization, politics may be concisely described as the process that decides who gets what, when, and how. As an elaborate study of this characterization, in this book Trounstine attempts to describe local government policy as it drives race and class segregation in American cities since the late 1800s, the advancement of industrialization and urbanization, and the growth and maturation of cities. Throughout the book, she charts the course of urban segregation during this timespan through to the contemporary era. On the ground below the national legal and political environment, she argues that space, urban design, public service provision, and (more indirectly) property values are matters influenced and pursued through the local political process, with benefits and spoils accruing to those in power and their supporters. In the historical narrative, she offers a periodizing approach where the basic model of local political influence and power remains roughly constant but the strategies, tactics, and terrain shift midcentury. Employing the basic conceptual framework, her arguments follow a basic formula where she presents historical narrative and then offers quantitative analyses supporting the developments presented in the narrative. In so doing, Trounstine attempts to weave together a historical theoretical structure with empirical analyses and evidence to support the conclusions. The historical narrative conceptualizes the development of American urban society and the influence of homeowners and businesses on the local policy process; the empirical analyses provide statistical evidence to show the impact of the policies on segregation and inequality. Viewed independently, the theoretical analyses read as conceptually driven historical narrative and the empirical analyses read as a series of postpositivist studies. Together, the two approaches strive to reinforce one another with the historical case studies quantified and verified by the empirical analyses.
In framing this research, Trounstine pursues four general lines of investigation. First, she seeks to elaborate on the circumstances where communities and cities are more likely to enact policies that generate segregation. In this line, she attempts to flesh out the landed and monied interests that drive policies that help generate and give rise to segregation. Second, as a means to protect their interests, she documents the local policies that are advanced by property owners and businesses that intentionally or unintentionally help generate and shape segregation. Where these policies are in place, she traces the impacts of segregation based on race and class lines. Third, tracking the changes over the course of the long 20th century, Troustine follows how segregation evolved in and between American cities from the late 19th century through the early 21st century. Following these changes over the decades, she records how segregation is manifested in terms of inequalities and social spending in different blocks, neighborhoods, and cities. Finally, she looks at the other salient effects of segregation, and how segregated cities and neighborhoods impact other political behaviors, often in the interest of maintaining property values (e.g. NIMBY), promoting social spending in your neighborhood but not in other neighborhoods for others, and most recently lowering social spending for all once groups have the goods for themselves.
There are, however, limitations and areas for improvement in each of the approaches. The historical studies of the cities discussed in the book are, just that, case studies. Completing quantitative analyses to support the conclusions does not change the underlying study design. In addition, the cities selected seemed to be based on a convenience sample. As such, the cities could be representative of other cities in America. However, with this apparent convenience sample, the cities could also not be representative of other cities in the United States. A more rigorous sampling methodology would help improve the generalizability of Trounstine’s findings. Otherwise, as in this case, caution is warranted before attempting to generalize from the cities studied to other cities, much less the American experience in the aggregate. In further assessing the approach, Trounstine apparently attempts to increase the validity of her analysis and the reliability of her findings by the volume of city case studies discussed and empirical analyses included throughout the book. However, there is still the large threat of selection bias. In fact, there is a particular type of selection bias known as "selecting on the dependent variable" where the author picks the case studies because they illustrate the outcome that the author is trying to demonstrate. In common parlance, we would call this "cherry picking" and the author can then work backward to find the independent variables that led to these outcomes. This is a common problem in social science works published outside of peer-reviewed journals, e.g. mass market books. Since this threat of selection bias has not been controlled for, the findings and conclusions should be taken with a grain of salt.
With that said, as a whole, in the book Trounstine makes a compelling case about the persistence and evolution of segregation in American cities as driven by local policies. The work may represent an instance where the overall product of the theoretical and empirical approaches is more persuasive than the rigor of the approaches on their own would seem to warrant. In the last analysis, the book provides ample fodder to question the conventional narrative that segregation is only a thing of the past. As Faulkner famously quipped: the past is not dead; it's not even past.
As a generalization, politics may be concisely described as the process that decides who gets what, when, and how. As an elaborate study of this characterization, in this book Trounstine attempts to describe local government policy as it drives race and class segregation in American cities since the late 1800s, the advancement of industrialization and urbanization, and the growth and maturation of cities. Throughout the book, she charts the course of urban segregation during this timespan through to the contemporary era. On the ground below the national legal and political environment, she argues that space, urban design, public service provision, and (more indirectly) property values are matters influenced and pursued through the local political process, with benefits and spoils accruing to those in power and their supporters. In the historical narrative, she offers a periodizing approach where the basic model of local political influence and power remains roughly constant but the strategies, tactics, and terrain shift midcentury. Employing the basic conceptual framework, her arguments follow a basic formula where she presents historical narrative and then offers quantitative analyses supporting the developments presented in the narrative. In so doing, Trounstine attempts to weave together a historical theoretical structure with empirical analyses and evidence to support the conclusions. The historical narrative conceptualizes the development of American urban society and the influence of homeowners and businesses on the local policy process; the empirical analyses provide statistical evidence to show the impact of the policies on segregation and inequality. Viewed independently, the theoretical analyses read as conceptually driven historical narrative and the empirical analyses read as a series of postpositivist studies. Together, the two approaches strive to reinforce one another with the historical case studies quantified and verified by the empirical analyses.
In framing this research, Trounstine pursues four general lines of investigation. First, she seeks to elaborate on the circumstances where communities and cities are more likely to enact policies that generate segregation. In this line, she attempts to flesh out the landed and monied interests that drive policies that help generate and give rise to segregation. Second, as a means to protect their interests, she documents the local policies that are advanced by property owners and businesses that intentionally or unintentionally help generate and shape segregation. Where these policies are in place, she traces the impacts of segregation based on race and class lines. Third, tracking the changes over the course of the long 20th century, Troustine follows how segregation evolved in and between American cities from the late 19th century through the early 21st century. Following these changes over the decades, she records how segregation is manifested in terms of inequalities and social spending in different blocks, neighborhoods, and cities. Finally, she looks at the other salient effects of segregation, and how segregated cities and neighborhoods impact other political behaviors, often in the interest of maintaining property values (e.g. NIMBY), promoting social spending in your neighborhood but not in other neighborhoods for others, and most recently lowering social spending for all once groups have the goods for themselves.
There are, however, limitations and areas for improvement in each of the approaches. The historical studies of the cities discussed in the book are, just that, case studies. Completing quantitative analyses to support the conclusions does not change the underlying study design. In addition, the cities selected seemed to be based on a convenience sample. As such, the cities could be representative of other cities in America. However, with this apparent convenience sample, the cities could also not be representative of other cities in the United States. A more rigorous sampling methodology would help improve the generalizability of Trounstine’s findings. Otherwise, as in this case, caution is warranted before attempting to generalize from the cities studied to other cities, much less the American experience in the aggregate. In further assessing the approach, Trounstine apparently attempts to increase the validity of her analysis and the reliability of her findings by the volume of city case studies discussed and empirical analyses included throughout the book. However, there is still the large threat of selection bias. In fact, there is a particular type of selection bias known as "selecting on the dependent variable" where the author picks the case studies because they illustrate the outcome that the author is trying to demonstrate. In common parlance, we would call this "cherry picking" and the author can then work backward to find the independent variables that led to these outcomes. This is a common problem in social science works published outside of peer-reviewed journals, e.g. mass market books. Since this threat of selection bias has not been controlled for, the findings and conclusions should be taken with a grain of salt.
With that said, as a whole, in the book Trounstine makes a compelling case about the persistence and evolution of segregation in American cities as driven by local policies. The work may represent an instance where the overall product of the theoretical and empirical approaches is more persuasive than the rigor of the approaches on their own would seem to warrant. In the last analysis, the book provides ample fodder to question the conventional narrative that segregation is only a thing of the past. As Faulkner famously quipped: the past is not dead; it's not even past.
May 16, 2019
Wow. The problem is so much older than I’d understood, beginning with 1870s sewers and power lines being purposefully not built in some neighborhoods. And it’s so much more resonant today than I’d thought, with 1950s single family home and over-large lot size requirements, made to keep black veterans our of new subdivisions, being used by current homeowners to stop increases in density (which stops/slows increases in diversity). This is a very good book.
April 26, 2022
Although this was a more challenging and more academic book than either The Color of Law or even Race for Profit, I really liked it! It took some effort to read and it's analytical enough that if you don't understand linear regression or know what entropy is, you will get less out of this. Not much less though, since the author does a great job translating her modeling methods and the conclusions they support into prose. This book reminded me of why I love books by people who've devoted their life to studying a particular topic. It opens with a fascinating new framework for thinking about segregation, which the author shows used to happen between blocks, then between neighborhoods, and now primarily occurs between cities.
I thought this book did a great job explaining why it matters if segregation is driven by government actions. In particular, government-driven segregation means that people lack recourse; segregation becomes a systemic problem; and sustained action from individuals is no longer required to maintain segregation. The author also did an incredible job explaining her data set, her methods, her conclusions, and any limitations of her work. The use of footnotes meant the writing flowed well, while still being admirably thorough. I have to admit that this was a challenging read and I don't think its one everyone will enjoy. I learned a lot though and I'm glad I put in the effort to read it!This review was originally posted on Doing Dewey
I thought this book did a great job explaining why it matters if segregation is driven by government actions. In particular, government-driven segregation means that people lack recourse; segregation becomes a systemic problem; and sustained action from individuals is no longer required to maintain segregation. The author also did an incredible job explaining her data set, her methods, her conclusions, and any limitations of her work. The use of footnotes meant the writing flowed well, while still being admirably thorough. I have to admit that this was a challenging read and I don't think its one everyone will enjoy. I learned a lot though and I'm glad I put in the effort to read it!This review was originally posted on Doing Dewey
March 19, 2024
I found this book to be some thing that I imagine a masters or doctoral thesis might be like. And since I experienced it in the audible format, I missed the inclusion of numerous graphs and other information presentations that were included in the e-book and print edition.
The title of the book gives away it’s assumption that segregation is still present. But the detail in the book suggest that it is no longer mostly easily visible as blatant racism, but more complicated. We can see the action of white privilege as well as the benefits of property ownership . Obviously our system overtime has come to give tax benefits to property owners that do not accrue to people who rent their home or apartment. The ingrained problems of Nimby not in my backyard are often unrecognized by many people.
I found myself in agreement with much of the presentation in the book. But I also was not sure that the book will help convince others of the importance of giving everyone a place at the table. The realization that local government decisions are based on a long history of accepting that property owners will want laws and rules that protect and improve their investment.
As a resident in a small city in Central Virginia of about 85,000 people, I had to work to put myself in the world that was often described in the book in terms of larger places. As a person who lives in the downtown area of this small city, I can see the issue of gentrification, and I can see the role of the school system, and the impact of people choosing private schools for their children rather than public schools. I can see the people in neighborhoods of single-family homes resisting the encroachment of multifamily housing through the use of zoning.
The title of the book gives away it’s assumption that segregation is still present. But the detail in the book suggest that it is no longer mostly easily visible as blatant racism, but more complicated. We can see the action of white privilege as well as the benefits of property ownership . Obviously our system overtime has come to give tax benefits to property owners that do not accrue to people who rent their home or apartment. The ingrained problems of Nimby not in my backyard are often unrecognized by many people.
I found myself in agreement with much of the presentation in the book. But I also was not sure that the book will help convince others of the importance of giving everyone a place at the table. The realization that local government decisions are based on a long history of accepting that property owners will want laws and rules that protect and improve their investment.
As a resident in a small city in Central Virginia of about 85,000 people, I had to work to put myself in the world that was often described in the book in terms of larger places. As a person who lives in the downtown area of this small city, I can see the issue of gentrification, and I can see the role of the school system, and the impact of people choosing private schools for their children rather than public schools. I can see the people in neighborhoods of single-family homes resisting the encroachment of multifamily housing through the use of zoning.
August 5, 2023
This is good. Covers a lot of the same ground as ‘Color of Law’ but instead of brisk narrative history, mostly tells the story using a mountain of empirical research. Accordingly dry and academic
June 28, 2024
Incredibly well put together, so much data in this book, but it's laid out in a very coherent way. Paints a very clear picture.
November 7, 2024
Read for a policy class. Focus on local government as a driver/perpetuator of segregation. Well researched.
December 1, 2020
The book was really informative but I think I've read books with similar themes and structure but more enticing narrative.
August 10, 2021
This was recommended to me after I shared THE COLOR OF LAW.
It’s *full* of data, data, data breaking down how and why the US became so strategically segregated.
I recommend reading a physical copy in order to pour over the reports, data, charts.
It’s *full* of data, data, data breaking down how and why the US became so strategically segregated.
I recommend reading a physical copy in order to pour over the reports, data, charts.
February 18, 2022
Before I read this, I thought it would just be a slightly wonkier version of Richard Rothstein's The Color of Law: another story about Whites and their Sins. But Troutstine's sometimes-incomprehensible quantitative research yields a few extra insights. For example:
*Troutstine sees segregation as shifting rather than declining. 19th.c-segregation was by building and street, early 20th-c. segregation was by neighborhood, and in the late 20th century, segregation crossed municipal lines, as cities became more minority-dominated and suburbs became racially identifiable.
*Troutstine discusses the birth of zoning, and points out that some types of communities adopted zoning earlier than others. Her data shows that municipalities that adopted zoning before 1930 were not racially different from other cities, but tended to have higher levels of taxes and government spending. Perhaps high property taxes made cities more dependent on high property values, and thus led to government regulation that propped up property values. But since almost all U.S. cities eventually adopted zoning, I am not sure how much this mattered in the long run. On the other hand, Troutstine does point out that although both "early adopter" cities and other cities became more segregated between 1900 and 1970, the "early adopter" cities became segregated somewhat more rapidly. Early adopter cities also had somewhat more of a gap in property values between the richest and poorest areas. I am not sure, however, why an extra decade of zoning would cause these problems.
*Troutstine discusses differences between racially segregated and less segregated cities today. Segregated cities have more racially divisive politics (e.g. elections between a black candidate and a white candidate). But they also have less government spending and more sewer overflows (an indication of worse performance).
*Troutstine discusses factors associated with "segregation ... between cities rather than within them"- in other words, "white flight" to suburbs. Where land use regulations are stricter in suburbs, there is more white flight. Where central cities "elect minority mayors [and] when they spend more money" white flight increases, while "wealthy white residents choose to remain in the central city when budgets are more austere." Similarly, federal desegregation orders led to more white flight. This part of her analysis seems inconsistent with progressive conventional wisdom; progressives tend to favor the policies that apparently accelerate white flight.
*Troutstine associates white flight with political conservatism; however, I wonder how the movement of U.S. suburbs to the left in recent elections would affect her theory.
*Troutstine sees segregation as shifting rather than declining. 19th.c-segregation was by building and street, early 20th-c. segregation was by neighborhood, and in the late 20th century, segregation crossed municipal lines, as cities became more minority-dominated and suburbs became racially identifiable.
*Troutstine discusses the birth of zoning, and points out that some types of communities adopted zoning earlier than others. Her data shows that municipalities that adopted zoning before 1930 were not racially different from other cities, but tended to have higher levels of taxes and government spending. Perhaps high property taxes made cities more dependent on high property values, and thus led to government regulation that propped up property values. But since almost all U.S. cities eventually adopted zoning, I am not sure how much this mattered in the long run. On the other hand, Troutstine does point out that although both "early adopter" cities and other cities became more segregated between 1900 and 1970, the "early adopter" cities became segregated somewhat more rapidly. Early adopter cities also had somewhat more of a gap in property values between the richest and poorest areas. I am not sure, however, why an extra decade of zoning would cause these problems.
*Troutstine discusses differences between racially segregated and less segregated cities today. Segregated cities have more racially divisive politics (e.g. elections between a black candidate and a white candidate). But they also have less government spending and more sewer overflows (an indication of worse performance).
*Troutstine discusses factors associated with "segregation ... between cities rather than within them"- in other words, "white flight" to suburbs. Where land use regulations are stricter in suburbs, there is more white flight. Where central cities "elect minority mayors [and] when they spend more money" white flight increases, while "wealthy white residents choose to remain in the central city when budgets are more austere." Similarly, federal desegregation orders led to more white flight. This part of her analysis seems inconsistent with progressive conventional wisdom; progressives tend to favor the policies that apparently accelerate white flight.
*Troutstine associates white flight with political conservatism; however, I wonder how the movement of U.S. suburbs to the left in recent elections would affect her theory.
June 25, 2024
This is an excellent, careful book tackling an important topic (the role of land use regulation in establishing segregation both within and between cities in the United States) with empirical rigor and a wealth of data.
Also, I made the mistake of listening to the audiobook and it's objectively hilarious to hear someone state all the terms of a regression equation in careful, authoritative Audible voice.
Also, I made the mistake of listening to the audiobook and it's objectively hilarious to hear someone state all the terms of a regression equation in careful, authoritative Audible voice.
February 2, 2024
I should have read this earlier. I used to understand zoning from the functional perspective and perceived it as an emotionless tool more than something that deeply linked to racial and class inequality. I really enjoyed reading the author’s process of deciding how the variables were measured, which troubled me a lot when I was at school.
March 28, 2025
3.75⭐️
A great read. I liked the format where each chapter began with the qualitative information to build the story and then came the quantitative data analysis and and conclusion or ie them together. I had both the audiobook and the ebook and it was helpful to read the data portions that would have been harder to understand in audiobook only. Would recommend
A great read. I liked the format where each chapter began with the qualitative information to build the story and then came the quantitative data analysis and and conclusion or ie them together. I had both the audiobook and the ebook and it was helpful to read the data portions that would have been harder to understand in audiobook only. Would recommend
April 21, 2021
Lots of data. I do not recommend trying to read and understand this book by way of an audiobook. It does a good job studying the history of segregation through housing policy. I struggled to see how it helped us imagine a different future.
March 9, 2023
An amazing amount of work clearly went into creating this compelling and creative examination of data on city development. An absolute must-read for anyone who wonders about the role of mixed neighborhoods in the health of our cities, regions, and nations.
December 29, 2025
A great book, where the author really shows her work! Engaging history and strong analytics merge to tell this fascinating (and infuriating) story of all of the ways racism was (quite literally) built into American society.
April 27, 2021
Lots of quantalitics
February 10, 2022
Dense but incredibly good.
October 23, 2022
Can’t really say I found this book to insightful beyond what most people can already see with their own eyes. I also did not really like the informal way it was written. Would not recommend.
March 22, 2023
for school
April 20, 2023
Extremely elegant book about local governance. Very clear focus on race, it had been interesting with more discussion on class and income segregation as such.
April 30, 2023
Excellent, important read. I’ll be adding this one to my housing policy class reading list.
Read
October 29, 2023had to read this for a class. did i actually read every single word? no. but i’m counting it because i have to write a report anyway
Read
February 20, 2024read for local politics class
April 9, 2024
It got too number oriented for me by the end but it was okay.
Read
February 8, 2025Read for school, feels wrong rating it. Well written and researched on the policies set in segregating the housing market.
Read
June 16, 2021Great concept and history but too many raw regression tables.
June 2, 2021
Very interesting! But technical and hard to read. Learned a lot.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews