Hypersegregation And Discrimination

Hypersegregation is the term coined by sociologists Douglas Massey and Nancy Denton used to describe areas that are extremely concentrated, isolated, and segregated (Chen, Orum, and Paulsen 200). Hypersegregation can be measured by determining the indices of exposure, dissimilarity, and isolation (Chen, Orum, and Paulsen 199). The index of exposure shows the degree that people live proximal to individuals of a different racial or ethnic group, while the index of isolation shows the degree that people live near individuals of their same race. The index of dissimilarity shows the amount, usually a percentage, of people that would have to move into a neighborhood so that it could be considered integrated (Chen, Orum, and Paulsen 199). Integration is the degree that individuals of different ethnic or racial groups live near each other (Chen, Orum, and Paulsen 199). …show more content…
Segregation relates to hypersegregation because both of these terms relate to the idea that areas can be populated by specific races, but hypersegregation describes an area that is highly concentrated and isolated with a group of people; in short, hypersegregation is segregation, but on a more extreme scale (Chen, Orum, and Paulsen 199). Understanding how near people of the same or different racial/ethnic groups live to each other allows one to better understand how segregated an area is; then with this information one can begin trying to determine where this segregation takes place, if it is spaced out, or if there are various minority areas within predominantly white areas (Chen, Orum, and Paulsen