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Cited by 3,153Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation StudiesHealth disparities and outcomesRacial and Ethnic Identity Research

Racial Residential Segregation: A Fundamental Cause of Racial Disparities in Health

Williams, David R, Collins, Chiquita·2001·Public Health Reports
DOI 10.1093/phr/116.5.404
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Abstract

Racial residential segregation is a fundamental cause of racial disparities in health. The physical separation of the races by enforced residence in certain areas is an institutional mechanism of racism that was designed to protect whites from social interaction with blacks. Despite the absence of supportive legal statutes, the degree of residential segregation remains extremely high for most African Americans in the United States. The authors review evidence that suggests that segregation is a primary cause of racial differences in socioeconomic status (SES) by determining access to education and employment opportunities. SES in turn remains a fundamental cause of racial differences in health. Segregation also creates conditions inimical to health in the social and physical environment. The authors conclude that effective efforts to eliminate racial disparities in health must seriously confront segregation and its pervasive consequences.

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  • While earlier studies of the social determinants of health tend to center individual and interpersonal racialized experiences, this new paradigm shifts focus to the institutional and structural conditions that shape racial disparities in health.

    “While earlier studies of the social determinants of health tend to center individual and interpersonal racialized experiences, this new paradigm shifts focus to the institutional and structural conditions that shape racial disparities in health [44, 45, 110, 118].”

    From Towards a critical race methodology in algorithmic fairness (2020) · cites this paper as [118]

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Williams, D. R., & Collins, C.
Affiliations
University of Michigan (US)
Corresponding author
Williams, David R
ORCID
Williams, David R
Venue
Public Health Reports
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2001-09
Volume
116
Issue
5
Pages
404-416
ISSN
0033-3549 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1093/phr/116.5.404
OpenAlex
W2018955353
Cited by
3,153
References
7
Citations by year
2026: 160 · 2025: 239 · 2024: 212 · 2023: 247 · 2022: 295 · 2021: 280 · 2020: 215 · 2019: 163 · 2018: 113 · 2017: 149 · 2016: 137 · 2015: 118 · 2014: 121 · 2013: 97 · 2012: 107
FWCI
51.73
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Public Health Reports (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH059575, R01MH057425)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies
  • Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
Keywords
racial residential segregation, racial disparities in health, institutional racism, African Americans, socioeconomic status, access to education, employment opportunities, built environment, social environment, health equity
MeSH terms
Black or African American, Crime, Employment, Health Services Accessibility, Health Status Indicators, Housing, Humans, Minority Groups, Prejudice, Race Relations, Residence Characteristics, Social Justice, Socioeconomic Factors, United States, Health Behavior

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