A new 91探花 study of thousands of local rental ads finds a pattern of 鈥渞acialized language鈥� that can perpetuate neighborhood segregation, using specific terms to describe apartments in different areas of town.
Terms like 鈥渃onvenient鈥� and 鈥渟afe and secure鈥� are more common in neighborhoods with a greater proportion of people of color, while 鈥渧intage鈥� and 鈥渃lassic鈥� are more popular in predominantly white neighborhoods.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e looking at racial segregation, we all make housing choices, and those choices we make affect segregation. We should know if we鈥檙e making choices based on racialized discourse,鈥� said , a graduate student at the 91探花and lead author of the study. 鈥淎 racialized society can be perpetuated through means that aren鈥檛 clearly conscious.鈥�
The findings don鈥檛 mean the ads are overtly, or even intentionally, racist, Kennedy said. Rather, words and phrases 鈥� certain terms common to some neighborhoods, and certain terms for others 鈥� can reinforce perceptions of neighborhoods, influence where people choose to live, and ultimately, create areas of the city where some racial and ethnic groups are more prevalent than others.
The published Aug. 3 in the journal Social Forces.
Past research has documented segregation in Seattle, and the legacy of redlining in some neighborhoods. Through the mid-20th century, real estate and rental ads identified properties in 鈥渞estricted鈥� areas 鈥� those with covenants designed to keep out people of color. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 prevented such discrimination in housing, and by 1970, overtly race-related language in local housing ads had essentially disappeared. But by then, as is the case , , and less-explicit forms of discrimination continued.
Given Seattle鈥檚 economic and population growth in recent years, Kennedy wanted to examine the factors that could sustain some of the de facto segregation that exists today. Seattle has grown by , and people new to the area may have little information about specific neighborhoods.
91探花sociologist Kyle Crowder has written about how people tend to move to neighborhoods where there are others 鈥渓ike鈥� them, often because others in their social networks live there or recommend them. Combined with the legacy of racial segregation, this perpetuates neighborhoods where predominantly white people live and shop, neighborhoods where Black people tend to live and shop, and so on.
For this study, Kennedy and the research team started with more than 400,000 Craigslist ads for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area between March 2017 and September 2018. Removing duplicate ads cut the database to about 45,000 from nearly 850 census tracts; data from the Census Bureau鈥檚 American Community Survey established the racial and ethnic breakdown of each tract.
Kennedy used an approach called topic modeling to recognize groups of words appearing together, and categorized those groups into 40 topics. For example, the topic 鈥渧intage charm鈥� typically included words like 鈥渧intage,鈥� 鈥渃lassic鈥� and brick.鈥� The topic of 鈥渃onvenience and ease鈥� included terms such as 鈥渆asy,鈥� 鈥渃onvenient,鈥� 鈥渓ocation鈥� and 鈥渙pen.鈥�
Kennedy was then able to spot patterns between the terms in the ads, and the neighborhoods the ads were tied to.
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Topics such as 鈥渧intage charm鈥� and those related to walkability and surrounding amenities were associated more frequently with predominantly white neighborhoods in Seattle, such as Wallingford and Queen Anne. In neighborhoods with a greater proportion of people of color, such as Seattle鈥檚 Northgate and in Kent, topics like 鈥渟afe and friendly鈥� and those pertaining to drive times and bus access were common. In particular, terms related to security 鈥� 鈥渟afety,鈥� 鈥渟ecure,鈥� 鈥渃ontrolled,鈥� 鈥渃ourtesy patrol鈥� 鈥� were associated more frequently with neighborhoods with a higher proportion of Black residents.
鈥淭hese associations are sadly aligned with what we know about racial stereotypes in the United States,鈥� Kennedy said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e worried that, in addition to influencing housing patterns, that these ads could also be a site for the reproduction of racial stereotypes.鈥�
A general theme emerged, Kennedy said: Listings in predominantly white neighborhoods highlighted history, culture and community. In neighborhoods that had a greater proportion of people of color, listings focused more often on features that separate the property from its surroundings, or simply on transportation out of the area.
The goal of rental ads, of course, is to occupy the unit, Kennedy said, so listings try to highlight what will draw a tenant; reversing perceptions and patterns requires a more systemic effort to discourage segregation. The study notes how the Chicago suburb of Oak Park to integrating its community by promoting a variety of neighborhoods and working with real estate agents, landlords and prospective tenants on changing perceptions.
The study was funded by the National Science Foundation. Co-authors were , a doctoral student in linguistics at the UW; Chris Hess of Cornell University; and Sarah Chasins of the University of California, Berkeley.
For more information, contact Kennedy at ikennedy@uw.edu.