The Role of Residential Segregation in the Assimilation Process

• Author: Thomas L. Van Valey,Wilfred G. Marston
• Published date: 01 January 1979
• Date: 01 January 1979
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/000271627944100103
• Subject Matter: Articles

13

The

Role

of

Residential

Segregation

in

the

Assimilation

Process

By

WILFRED

G.

MARSTON

and

THOMAS

L.

VAN

VALEY

ABSTRACT:

The

assimilation

process

and

the

fact

of

residen-

tial

segregation

are

both

major

emphases

in

the

literature

on

race

and

ethnic

relations.

For

a

variety

of reasons,

however,

the

tendency

has

been

to

neglect

their

relation

to

one

another.

This

paper

offers

an

explicit

connection

between

the

two.

We

offer

an

elaboration

of

the

notion

of

assimilation

and

sug-

gest

that

it

can

be

viewed

as

a

sequential

process,

beginning

with

the

cultural

dimension,

proceeding

with

the

socio-

economic,

and

ending

with

the

structural.

Furthermore,

we

contend

that

the

residential

segregation

of

racial/ethnic

groups

has

important

consequences

for

the

assimilation

process

at

every

juncture.

Wilfred

G.

Marston

received

his

Ph.D.

from

the

University

of

Washington,

Seattle

and

is

currently

a

Professor

of

Sociology

and

Chairman

of

the

Urban

Studies

Program

at

the

University

of

Michigan-Flint.

He

has

taught

at

York

Uni-

versity,

Toronto

and

California

State

University,

Long

Beach.

His

publications

include

studies

of

racial

segregation

in

the

United

States

and

ethnic

segregation

in

Canada.

He

is

currently

involved

in

a

project

dealing

with

ethnic

assimilation

and

pluralism

in

cities

of

varying

size.

Thomas

L.

Van

Valey

is

currently

an

Associate

Professor

and

Director

of

the

Urban

Studies

Program

in

the

Department

of

Sociology

at

Western

Michigan

University.

He

received

his

B.A.

from

Hanover

College,

his

M.A.

from

The

Uni-

versity

of

Washington,

and

his

Ph.D.

from

The

University

of

North

Carolina.

In

addition

to

racial

residential

segregation,

his

substantive

interests

include

socioeconomic

inequality

and

urban

area

analysis.

ANNALS,

AAPSS,

441,

Jan.

1979