NASA Lend Technology to Mapping Diversity in the U.S.

New maps by the University of Cincinnati show both racial diversity and segregation in the United States by combining NASA satellite with Census data from 1990 to 2010. The map shows that while the U.S. is a racially diverse country, its residential patterns remain very segregated.

It also demonstrates the movement of cultures in the country over the past 20 years.  The map’s researchers highlight several metropolitan areas that show changes in racial residential patterns. Researchers also found that white-only neighborhoods are declining in favor of more diversity but that old African-American-only neighborhoods persist but are not expanding. In addition, new low-diversity neighborhoods are forming, mostly among Hispanics and Asians.