Beliefs about the Causes of Racial Inequality : The Persisting Impact of Urban and Suburban Locations?

Abstract EN

The purpose of this paper is to assess the classical theoretical propositions of Wirth and Stouffer regarding the independent impact of urban and suburban residency on beliefs about racial inequality.

This paper further assesses the impacts of these social locations over a three-decade period.

While scholars pose that city size positively impacts behavior, there is debate regarding the impact of these locations over time.

Using the General Social Survey, findings demonstrate that while urbanism continues to have an independent impact on beliefs, the impact of suburban residency is much weaker and inconsistent.

Analyses of over time trends reveal that the gap between urban and rural residents appears to have increased, with rural residents expressing more intolerant beliefs about the causes of racial inequality over time.

These findings are further discussed in a broader theoretical context.