Research is also needed that gives more systematic attention to understanding the conditions under which segregation can have positive effects for particular health outcomes and social groups. There is nothing inherently negative about living in close proximity to members of one’s own race. The problem of segregation is not racial composition per se but the concentration of poverty and social adversity that co-occurs with segregation given America’s history of racial inequality and injustice. At the same time, there are conditions under which greater geographic concentration of one’s group can have beneficial effects on health. One study found that mortality rates are lower in high density Mexican American and Cuban American neighborhoods than in low density areas75 and a recent national study from the UK found that reported levels of discrimination among racial minorities was lower in areas of high racial density, and greater geographic concentration of one’s group was associated with lower levels of mental health symptoms but not physical health.76 Understanding the relative contribution of concentrated poverty and racial density to health is an important research priority.
