Boston, Malden, Lowell have high "diversity density"

In an earlier post, I listed the 20 US counties that rank highest in "diversity density," a measure that combines racial diversity with populaton density to get a sense of "the likelihood of running into people of several different races during a brisk walk across town." Only New York and San Francisco scored higher than Boston.

This time I'm looking at Massachusetts cities and towns, and my hometown — and current residence — of Malden ranks near the top. (Photo at right is of the central business district a couple of years ago.)

Again, I based the rankings on newly released Census data. I defined "diversity" as strong representation for at least three of the racial groups for which the Census Bureau collects data. So I calculated the percentage of the population who didn't claim membership in either of the racial groups that were the two largest in each particular city or town. Then I came up with the population density for that subpopulation.

*The Bay State as a whole is 76% non-Hispanic white and 10% Hispanic, leaving 14% in other groups: 6% black, 5% Asian, 2% two or more races, and less than 1% identifying as American Indian, Native Hawaiian, or "other." In Boston, 31% of the population does not belong to either of the two leading racial groups, which are non-Hispanic white and black.

20 COMMUNITIES WITH THE MOST PEOPLE PER SQUARE MILE WHO DON'T BELONG TO THE TWO LARGEST RACIAL GROUPS IN THAT COMMUNITY

(compared with rank in overall density)

Note: Winthrop, Melrose, Quincy, Belmont, and Salem are among the 20 most crowded cities and towns in the Bay State but did not make this diversity list. Counties that rank higher on diversity density than on overall population density are in bold.

1. Boston: 3,909 (4)
2. Cambridge: 3,763 (2)
3. Somerville: 3,751 (1)
4. Malden: 3,204 (6)
5. Everett: 3,106 (5)
6. Lowell: 2,094 (14)
7. Chelsea: 2,018 (3)
8. Lynn: 1,699 (11)
9. Brockton: 1,191 (27)
10. Springfield: 1,164 (22)
11. Revere: 1,159 (8)
12. Medford: 1,061 (15)
13. Brookline: 961 (10)
14. Worcester: 942 (20)
15. Watertown: 869 (13)
16. Waltham: 841 (21)
17. Randolph: 757 (32)
18. New Bedford: 724 (23)
19. Arlington: 673 (12)
20. Lawrence: 625 (7)

As noted in the previous post, the most diverse Census tract in Boston may be 912 (outlined in the map at right), which takes in the western part of Dorchester's Uphams Corner area. The high percentage of people claiming "other" as a race may be attributable to Haitian and other Caribbean immigrants. Also of note: Census data show that the Hispanic population in this Tract 912 has gone up by 22% in the past decade while the black population has gone down by 21%; non-Hispanic whites have risen by 1%.

Census Tract 912 (Stoughton Street area of Uphams Corner)

• 30.3% non-Hispanic white
• 23.6% black
• 21.6% Hispanic
• 12.1% "other"
• 6.1% Asian
• 6.1% two or more races

For all its multicultural cachet, Somerville doesn't stand out for its diversity. The 4.1-square-mile city houses 75,754 people, making its population density (18,477 per square mile) the highest in the state. Nearby Malden has a considerably lower density (11,657 people per square mile), but if you take out the two leading racial groups, the difference shrinks significantly: 3,751 people per square mile for Somerville and 3,204 for Malden.

Malden is sort of the equivalent of New York's borough of Queens: a relatively affordable area with strong public transit that lacks a hipster image (and thus has escaped widespread gentrification). Malden's Census Tract 3415, in its Faulkner neighborhood, is one of the most evenly balanced in the state (click here for a New York Times map of census tracts in the area):

• 38.8% non-Hispanic white (population down 26% since 2000)
• 23.0% black (up 68%)
• 19.0% Asian (up 19%)
• 13.9% Hispanic (up 109%)

As you can see from the recent changes, the racial make-up of this now-integrated neighborhood is rather volatile, and there's some evidence of "white flight." The key to maintaining diversity in Malden may be the revitalization of its rather shabby retail districts. The All Seasons Table restaurant, in the photo above, is a bright spot in that it attracts one of the liveliest and most racially diverse crowds I've seen around Boston, but the city needs more places like it.

Below are other lists on the density of each major racial group in Massachusetts. As before, counties in bold rank higher than their overall population densit would predict.

10 COMMUNITIES WITH THE MOST WHITES PER SQUARE MILE

(compared with rank in overall density)

Note: Someville's Census Tract 3505, a triangle formed by Davis, Teele, and Powderhouse Squares, is 87% non-Hispanic white. Its population dropped by 3% over the past decade, even though housing stock stayed level and vacancies dropped by 12%. Presumably, this means smaller (i.e., gentrified) households. In overwhelmingly white Arlington, the non-Hispanic white population dropped in every Census tract except for Arlington Heights, and even there the 2% rise in white residents was dwarfed by the 69% rise in Asian residents.

1. Somerville: 12,771 (1)
2. Cambridge: 10,197 (2)
3. Winthrop: 7,743 (9)
4. Arlington: 6,885 (12)
5. Everett: 6,564 (5)
6. Watertown: 6,357 (13)
7. Brookline: 6,329 (10)
8. Malden: 6,120 (6)
9. Boston: 5,998 (4)
10. Revere: 5,474 (8)

10 COMMUNITIES WITH THE MOST HISPANICS PER SQUARE MILE

(compared with rank in overall density)

Note: Chelsea's Census Tract 1602, going south from City Hall to just short of the waterfront, is 83% Hispanic. Just next door, Census Tract 1603, which includes the oceanview neighborhood of Admiral Hill, is only 22% Hispanic.

1. Chelsea: 9,934 (3)
2. Lawrence: 8,052 (7)
3. Lynn: 2,686 (11)
4. Everett: 2,586 (6)
5. Boston: 2,230 (4)
6. Revere: 2,139 (8)
7. Somerville: 1,955 (1)
8. Springfield: 1,852 (22)
9. Lowell: 1,333 (14)
10. Cambridge: 1,246 (2)

10 COMMUNITIES WITH THE MOST BLACKS PER SQUARE MILE

(compared with rank in overall density)

Note: Census Tract 101102, in Mattapan along a section of Blue Hill Avenue, has the highest percentage of black residents (84%) in Boston. But the black population lagged behind overall population growth in every part of Roxbury. In Census Tract 80401, at the intersection of Melnea Cass Boulevard and Harrison Avenue, overall population jumped by 25%, but the number of black residents fell by 3%.

1. Boston: 2,853 (4)
2. Cambridge: 1,811 (1)
3. Malden: 1,663 (6)
4. Everett: 1,662 (5)
5. Brockton: 1,300 (27)
6. Somerville: 1,188 (1)
7. Randolph: 1,180 (32)
8. Chelsea: 1,064 (3)
9. Springfield: 933 (22)
10. Lynn: 879 (11)

10 COMMUNITIES WITH THE MOST ASIANS PER SQUARE MILE

(compared with rank in overall density)

Asians make up a majority of two Census districts just to the west of Lowell's South Common; see map here. Cambodian immigrants make up a large part of Lowell's Asian population but are relatively few in the Boston area.

1. Cambridge: 2,472 (2)
2. Malden: 2,333 (6)
3. Somerville: 1,604 (1)
4. Lowell: 1,546 (14)
5. Brookline: 1,347 (10)
6. Quincy: 1,317 (17)
7. Boston: 1,133 (4)
8. Arlington: 681 (12)
9. Everett: 583 (5)
10. Belmont: 580 (18)

10 COMMUNITIES WITH THE MOST PEOPLE CLAIMING TWO OR MORE RACES PER SQUARE MILE

(compared with rank in overall density)

1. Cambridge: 587 (2)
2. Somerville: 521 (1)
3. Boston: 309 (4)
4. Malden: 299 (6)
5. Everett: 293 (5)
6. Chelsea: 258 (3)
7. Brockton: 256 (27)
8. Brookline: 221 (10)
9. New Bedford: 205 (23)
10. Lynn: 187 (11)

10 COMMUNITIES WITH THE MOST PEOPLE CLAIMING "OTHER" PER SQUARE MILE

(compared with rank in overall density)

Everett has a significant population of Haitian ancestry; Framingham has a large number of Brazilian immigrants.

1. Everett: 539 (5)
2. Somerville: 412 (1)
3. Brockton: 387 (27)
4. Malden: 235 (6)
5. New Bedford: 210 (23)
6. Boston: 208 (4)
7. Chelsea: 192 (3)
8. Framingham: 162 (40)
9. Revere: 133 (8)
10. Medford: 116 (15)

Follow me on Twitter @RobertDSullivan.

Comments

[David Trumbull]

You might be interested in a piece I wrote for the Post-Gazette (Boston's English language Italian-American newspaper) on the census numbers for a couple of neighborhoods.

http://trumbullofboston.org/writing/2011-04-15.htm

[Robert David Sullivan]

Thanks, David! I also posted your North End/East Boston analysis to the HubStats Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/#!/HubStats