Creative Regional Strategies

March 12, 2012

Upstate New York Super-Region

Tolerance Measures

Tolerance Benchmarks

Integration Index

Where VGroupDA,G is the population of group G in the dissemination area and where VGroupDA,H is the population of group H in the dissemination area. Where VGroupG is the total population of group G in the CMA andwhere VGroupH is the total population in group H in the CMA

• This measure takes into account six racial/ethnic groups: White, non-Hispanic; Black, non-Hispanic; Asian/Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic; Other races (including mixed races), non-Hispanic; White, Hispanic; and Nonwhite, Hispanic.*

• * For each MSA, we captured the percentages of races/ethnicities within each census tract and compared these percentages to the racial and ethnic makeup of the total MSA population. The more the average census tract varied in racial/ethnic makeup from the MSA as a whole, the lower the MSA’s score. The goal is to detect regions where diversity is only apparent—where the overall population of the MSA is racially and ethnically mixed, but within the region the different groups lead separate lives in separate neighborhoods. The Racial Integration Index is actually 1 minus a segregation index.

Integration Index

• = 1 – Segregation Index

Integration Index

Region Blue Orange Purple TotalA 100 100 100 300

B 100 100 100 300

C 100 100 100 300

Total 300 300 300 900

Segregation Index (Example 1)

Segregation Index = 0 + 0 + 0Integration Index = 1 - 0

= 1

Region Blue Orange Purple TotalA 300 0 0 300

B 0 300 0 300

C 0 0 300 300

Total 300 300 300 900

Segregation Index (Example 2)

Region A = 300/900 x [|300/300 – 300/900|+ |0/300 – 300/900| + |0/300 – 300/900|]

= 1/3 x [2/3 + 1/3 + 1/3] = 1/3 x 4/3 = 4/9Segregation Index = 4/9 + 4/9 + 4/9 = 1.333Integration Index = 1 – 1.333

= -0.333

Region Blue Orange Purple TotalA 300 0 0 300

B 300 0 0 300

C 300 0 0 300

Total 900 0 0 900

Segregation Index (Example 3)

Segregation Index = ???Integration Index = 1 - ???

=

Region Blue Orange Purple TotalA 300 0 0 300

B 300 0 0 300

C 300 0 0 300

Total 900 0 0 900

Segregation Index (Example 3)

Region A = 3/9 x [|1-1| + |0-0| + |0-0|] = 0Segregation Index = 0Integration Index = 1 – 0

= 1

Hispanic Community

In 1990, 2.9% of the population of the city of Syracuse was Hispanic. By 2000, that had climbed to 5.3%. The actual number of Hispanics living in Syracuse nearly doubled (an increase of 65% to 7,768) over the 10 years while, at the same time, the white population declined by almost 23% and the total population declined by about 10%. (The African-American population increased by 12%, and the Asian population increased by more than 40%.)

Diversity of Diversity

While the foreign-born population is not as large as in other areas, there is a strength in the large number of ethnic groups represented in the area, many of which are only first- or second-generation in the United States. In 1990, about 38% of Syracuse’s foreign-born population had entered the country within the previous 10 years while by 2000, almost 60% of the foreign-born population entered the country between 1990 and 2000.

Diversity of Diversity

During the 1990’s, another 6,500 people moved to Syracuse from outside the U.S. so that, by 2000, almost 4.5% of the total population had moved to Syracuse from abroad within the previous 10 years. Of the foreign-born population, more than 40% is from Asia, 32% is from Europe, and 15% is from Latin America. The percentages for Asia and Europe are both nearly double those of the entire country, while the percentage of foreign-born residents from Asia is twice as high for Syracuse as New York State.

Diversity of Diversity

Syracuse is attracting the foreign-born differently (many more from Asia and Europe and fewer from Latin America) than the rest of the country and New York State. This creates an opportunity to leverage its position in a way that does not involve as much direct competition for new immigrants. Immigrants are attracted to areas where other immigrants from their homeland have already settled. Syracuse has successfully attracted Asian and European immigrants at higher rates than many other places. The focus should be on continuing and expanding immigration from places that have already provided immigrants.

Other Tolerance Strengths

• Diverse Religious Base• Native American Presence• Asian/Pacific Islander Populations• Overall NY State Diversity• University Special Interest Groups (SIGS)

Tolerance Weaknesses

• Foreign-Born Population & Overall Lack of Diversity• Loss of African-American Wage Standing• Overall Upstate Lack of Diversity• Low Density & Fragmentation of Boho and Arts Communities• Minority and Gender Gap in Business/Civic Sectors

Toronto