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Sunday, April 3, 2011

Why is Milwaukee the nation's top segregated metro? One reason: Scott W. | Uppity Wisconsin

Why is Milwaukee the nation's top segregated metro? One reason: Scott W. | Uppity Wisconsin

Why is Milwaukee the nation's top segregated metro? One reason: Scott W.

In an article for Salon.com, Philadelphia journalist Daniel Denvir examines recent US Census data and reports that on a scale of 1 to 100 where 100 is complete segregation, Milwaukee's number is highest among all larger US urban areas, with a tally of 81.52. And former Milwaukee County Executive Walker is one of the factors, according to a UWM professor interviewed for the piece.

Excerpt:

Nationwide, blacks have been concentrated in the inner city, far away from where new jobs are created. Yet the case of Milwaukee is extreme: 90 percent of the metro area's black population lives in the city. Making matters worse, suburban whites are notably hostile to building any form of public transit to connect city people to suburban jobs, further exacerbating segregation's ill effects.