MCAT Psychological Social Foundations Flashcards: 10a Spatial Inequality Residential Segregation

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This deck focuses on 10a Spatial Inequality Residential Segregation, giving you a quick way to review the definitions, rules, and examples that matter most for MCAT Psychological Social Foundations.

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Work through these flashcards in short sessions. Try to answer each prompt before flipping the card, then revisit any cards you miss until the explanation feels automatic.

Flashcard 1: What is blockbusting?

Answer: Inducing White flight for profit by stoking racial fears. Realtors profit from panic-selling and racial turnover.

Flashcard 2: What is the neighborhood effect?

Answer: Local context shapes outcomes (education, health, crime, mobility). Place matters beyond individual characteristics.

Flashcard 3: What is de jure segregation?

Answer: Segregation enforced by laws or official policies. Legal mandates like Jim Crow laws enforced separation.

Flashcard 4: What is residential segregation in sociological terms?

Answer: Physical separation of groups into different neighborhoods. Creates homogeneous neighborhoods by race, ethnicity, or income.

Flashcard 5: Identify the most direct way residential segregation can widen health disparities.

Answer: Unequal access to care, healthy food, safe housing, and clean air. Place determines exposure to health resources and risks.

Flashcard 6: What is gentrification?

Answer: In-migration of higher-income residents raising costs and displacing locals. Economic forces transform neighborhoods, often harming long-term residents.

Flashcard 7: Which option best describes environmental racism?

Answer: Disproportionate pollution burdens placed on marginalized communities. Hazardous facilities often sited near minority neighborhoods.

Flashcard 8: Which option best describes how property-tax funding can create school inequality?

Answer: Wealthier areas collect more taxes, enabling better-resourced schools. Local funding creates resource disparities between rich and poor districts.

Flashcard 9: What is residential segregation?

Answer: Physical separation of groups into different neighborhoods. Results from historical policies and ongoing discrimination.

Flashcard 10: Identify the segregation dimension defined as potential contact between groups in shared areas.

Answer: Exposure (or isolation). Low exposure means groups rarely interact in daily life.

Flashcard 11: What is gentrification?

Answer: In-migration of higher-income residents raising costs and displacing. Market forces push out long-term, lower-income residents.

Flashcard 12: What is spatial inequality in a sociological context?

Answer: Unequal distribution of resources and opportunities across places. Reflects how geography shapes access to education, jobs, and services.

Flashcard 13: Which index measures how evenly two groups are distributed across neighborhoods?

Answer: Index of dissimilarity. Ranges from 0 (integration) to 1 (complete segregation).

Flashcard 14: What is white flight?

Answer: Majority group leaving neighborhoods as minority presence increases. Often triggered by blockbusting or school integration, creating segregated suburbs.

Flashcard 15: What is the neighborhood effect hypothesis?

Answer: Neighborhood context causally shapes outcomes beyond individual traits. Place matters independently of who lives there.

Flashcard 16: What is redlining?

Answer: Denying or raising cost of credit/insurance based on neighborhood demographics. Banks historically drew red lines on maps around minority neighborhoods.

Flashcard 17: What term describes banks denying mortgages in certain neighborhoods by race or risk rating?

Answer: Redlining. Maps marked minority areas as high-risk, denying loans.

Flashcard 18: What is blockbusting?

Answer: Inducing sales by stoking racial fear, then profiting from turnover. Real estate agents exploited racial fears for financial gain.

Flashcard 19: What is a racial covenant (restrictive covenant) in housing history?

Answer: Contract clause barring sale/occupancy by specific racial groups. Outlawed by Supreme Court in 1948 but effects persist.

Flashcard 20: What is de facto segregation?

Answer: Segregation produced by social and economic forces, not laws. Market dynamics and preferences create unofficial separation.

Flashcard 21: What is blockbusting?

Answer: Inducing white flight for profit by stoking racial fears. Real estate agents profited from racial turnover.

Flashcard 22: What is White flight?

Answer: Out-migration of White residents from diversifying urban neighborhoods. Demographic shift often triggered by racial integration fears.

Flashcard 23: What is residential segregation?

Answer: Physical separation of groups into different neighborhoods by race or SES. Systematic sorting creates homogeneous neighborhoods by demographic characteristics.

Flashcard 24: What is the key difference between segregation and social stratification?

Answer: Segregation is spatial separation; stratification is hierarchical inequality. Segregation is horizontal separation; stratification is vertical ranking.

Flashcard 25: What is de facto segregation, as contrasted with de jure segregation?

Answer: Segregation by practice and circumstances, not explicit law. Results from choices and discrimination, not legal mandates.

Flashcard 26: What is White flight?

Answer: Majority-group departure from neighborhoods as minorities move in. Racial prejudice drives suburban migration patterns.

Flashcard 27: Which scenario best indicates gentrification: rising rents with displacement, or stable rents with turnover?

Answer: Rising rents with displacement. Displacement distinguishes gentrification from normal turnover.

Flashcard 28: What is the "neighborhood effect" in social science research?

Answer: Local context shapes outcomes such as health, education, crime, and mobility. ZIP code predicts life outcomes through concentrated advantages/disadvantages.

Flashcard 29: What is blockbusting?

Answer: Inducing white flight by stoking fear to profit from rapid home sales. Real estate tactic exploiting racial fears for profit.

Flashcard 30: What is residential segregation?

Answer: Physical separation of groups into different neighborhoods by race or class. Creates homogeneous neighborhoods based on demographic characteristics.

Flashcard 31: What is redlining as a mechanism of residential segregation?

Answer: Denying or pricing credit/insurance by neighborhood risk, often racialized. Banks systematically denied loans to minority neighborhoods.

Flashcard 32: What is suburbanization?

Answer: Population shift from urban cores to surrounding suburbs. Post-WWII movement seeking larger homes and perceived safety.

Flashcard 33: What is residential segregation?

Answer: Physical separation of groups into different neighborhoods. Creates homogeneous communities by race, ethnicity, or class.

Flashcard 34: What is gentrification in the context of urban neighborhood change?

Answer: In-migration of higher-income residents raising costs and displacement. Often displaces long-term residents who can't afford rising rents.

Flashcard 35: What is the "exposure" or "isolation" dimension of segregation?

Answer: Likelihood that a group shares neighborhoods with itself versus others. Measures daily contact probability between different groups.

Flashcard 36: What is de jure segregation, as contrasted with de facto segregation?

Answer: Segregation enforced by laws or official policies. Jim Crow laws exemplified this form of legal separation.

Flashcard 37: What is the difference between gentrification and urban renewal?

Answer: Gentrification is market-driven; urban renewal is policy-driven. Both transform neighborhoods but through different mechanisms.

Flashcard 38: What is exclusionary zoning?

Answer: Zoning rules that limit affordable housing (e.g., large lot sizes). Maintains economic homogeneity through land-use regulations.

Flashcard 39: What is a key mechanism by which redlining produced long-term spatial inequality?

Answer: Reduced homeownership and wealth accumulation in targeted areas. Denied loans prevented property investment and intergenerational wealth.

Flashcard 40: Which option best describes the mechanism of housing segregation via zoning?

Answer: Exclusionary zoning that restricts multifamily or low-cost housing construction. Single-family-only zoning prevents affordable housing development.

Flashcard 41: What is the bid-rent theory prediction for land value near a city center?

Answer: Land value is highest near the CBD and declines with distance. Competition for central locations drives up prices near downtown.

Flashcard 42: Which option best distinguishes income inequality from spatial inequality?

Answer: Income inequality is between people; spatial inequality is between places. Individual vs. geographic distribution of resources.

Flashcard 43: What is White flight in the context of neighborhood racial change?

Answer: Departure of White residents following increased minority presence. Demographic shift that concentrated poverty in urban cores.

Flashcard 44: Which term describes segregation produced by laws or official policies?

Answer: De jure segregation. Latin for "by law" - legally mandated separation.

Flashcard 45: What is the bid-rent theory of urban land use?

Answer: Land users bid more for locations that reduce commuting and increase accessibility. Central locations command higher rents due to reduced transportation costs.

Flashcard 46: What is the concentric zone model (Burgess model) of city structure?

Answer: City grows in rings: CBD, transition, working class, residential, commuter zone. Each ring represents different socioeconomic functions radiating from center.

Flashcard 47: What is concentrated poverty as a neighborhood-level concept?

Answer: High poverty clustered in specific areas, often with limited services. Creates cumulative disadvantage through resource deprivation.

Flashcard 48: What is the "spatial mismatch" hypothesis?

Answer: Jobs move to suburbs while low-income urban residents face access barriers. Geographic disconnect between where poor people live and jobs exist.

Flashcard 49: What is steering in real estate, and how does it relate to segregation?

Answer: Guiding buyers to neighborhoods based on race, reinforcing separation. Illegal practice that perpetuates neighborhood racial composition.

Flashcard 50: What is residential segregation?

Answer: Physical separation of groups into different neighborhoods. Results from housing discrimination and socioeconomic factors.

Flashcard 51: What is the built environment in social epidemiology and urban sociology?

Answer: Human-made surroundings (housing, roads, parks) shaping behavior/health. Physical infrastructure affects walkability, safety, and access to resources.

Flashcard 52: What is the "neighborhood effect" as used in sociology?

Answer: Local context influences outcomes beyond individual traits. Place matters: same person may have different outcomes in different neighborhoods.

Flashcard 53: What is the main health-related consequence of concentrated poverty?

Answer: Higher morbidity and mortality due to chronic stress and limited access. Poverty affects healthcare access and creates toxic stress responses.

Flashcard 54: What is white flight in the context of neighborhood change?

Answer: Out-migration of White residents after increased minority presence. Accelerated suburbanization and reinforced racial segregation patterns.

Flashcard 55: What is the dissimilarity index used to quantify residential segregation?

Answer: Percent of a group that must move to achieve even distribution. Ranges 0-100; higher values indicate more segregation.

Flashcard 56: What is the "food desert" concept used to describe?

Answer: Areas with limited access to affordable, nutritious food. Geographic barriers to healthy eating options.

Flashcard 57: Identify the term for unequal school funding tied to local property taxes.

Answer: Spatial inequality in educational resources driven by property-tax base. Wealthy districts have higher property values, generating more school funding.

Flashcard 58: What is the index of dissimilarity used to measure in segregation research?

Answer: Evenness of group distribution across neighborhoods (0 = even, 1 = uneven). Measures percentage needing to move for perfect integration.

Flashcard 59: What is the "neighborhood effect" hypothesis?

Answer: Local context causally influences outcomes beyond individual traits. Place shapes outcomes through resources and exposures.

Flashcard 60: What is steering in housing discrimination?

Answer: Guiding buyers toward or away from areas based on race or ethnicity. Real estate agents illegally direct clients based on racial composition.

Flashcard 61: What is food desert as an indicator of spatial inequality?

Answer: Area with limited access to affordable, nutritious food retailers. Lack of supermarkets forces reliance on unhealthy convenience stores.

Flashcard 62: What is de facto segregation?

Answer: Segregation produced by social and economic forces without explicit laws. Results from individual choices, economics, and informal discrimination.

Flashcard 63: Identify the main mechanism by which property-tax funding can amplify spatial inequality.

Answer: Wealthier areas raise more revenue, producing better-resourced schools/services. Creates feedback loop where wealth begets better public goods.

Flashcard 64: Which policy practice most directly created racially restricted neighborhoods through property deeds?

Answer: Restrictive covenants. Legal contracts banned racial minorities from buying.

Flashcard 65: What is spatial inequality in the context of health and social outcomes?

Answer: Unequal distribution of resources and opportunities across places. Geography determines access to jobs, schools, healthcare, and services.

Flashcard 66: What is a restrictive covenant in housing history?

Answer: Contract clause barring sale or occupancy by specific groups. Legal tool used to maintain racial homogeneity in neighborhoods.

Flashcard 67: What is a food desert?

Answer: Area with limited access to affordable, nutritious food. Often in low-income urban areas lacking supermarkets but having many fast-food outlets.

Flashcard 68: What is redlining as a housing and lending practice?

Answer: Denying credit/insurance to areas deemed high risk, often minority areas. Maps literally drew red lines around "hazardous" neighborhoods to deny services.

Flashcard 69: What does the dissimilarity index measure in segregation research?

Answer: Evenness: how evenly two groups are distributed across neighborhoods. Ranges 0-100; higher values indicate greater segregation.

Flashcard 70: What is the difference between de jure and de facto segregation?

Answer: De jure is legally enforced; de facto arises from social and economic forces. De jure requires law; de facto happens without legal mandate.

Flashcard 71: What is white flight?

Answer: Large-scale departure of white residents from diversifying neighborhoods. Phenomenon accelerated by blockbusting and school integration.

Flashcard 72: Which term describes segregation produced by social and economic forces rather than laws?

Answer: De facto segregation. Latin for "in fact" - occurs without explicit legal mandate.

Flashcard 73: What is spatial inequality in the context of neighborhoods and communities?

Answer: Unequal access to resources and opportunities across geographic areas. Results from geographic disparities in services, wealth, and infrastructure.

Flashcard 74: Identify the segregation dimension captured by "exposure" measures.

Answer: Potential contact between groups within neighborhoods. Differs from evenness by focusing on interaction likelihood.

Flashcard 75: What is redlining?

Answer: Denying credit/insurance to areas labeled high risk, often minority areas. Practice that systematically excluded minorities from homeownership.

Flashcard 76: What is the neighborhood effects hypothesis?

Answer: Neighborhood conditions causally influence life outcomes. Place shapes health, education, and economic opportunities.

Flashcard 77: What is blockbusting in the history of residential segregation?

Answer: Inducing White flight to profit from panic-driven home sales. Real estate agents exploited racial fears for profit.

Flashcard 78: What is concentrated poverty?

Answer: High poverty clustered within a neighborhood, often reinforcing disadvantage. Creates cumulative disadvantages through limited resources and networks.

Flashcard 79: What is spatial inequality in a sociological context?

Answer: Unequal distribution of resources and opportunities across places. Geography determines access to jobs, schools, and services.

Flashcard 80: What is urban sprawl?

Answer: Low-density outward expansion of cities into surrounding areas. Creates car dependence and fragments natural habitats.

Flashcard 81: What is residential segregation?

Answer: Physical separation of groups into different neighborhoods. Results from housing discrimination, economics, and social preferences.

Flashcard 82: What is spatial inequality in a sociological context?

Answer: Unequal distribution of resources and opportunities across places. Geographic disparities create unequal life chances by location.

Flashcard 83: What is the "isolation" index intended to measure?

Answer: Probability a group member shares a neighborhood with same-group members. High values indicate limited intergroup contact opportunities.

Flashcard 84: What is redlining as a mechanism of residential segregation?

Answer: Denying credit or insurance to areas based on racial composition. Banks drew red lines on maps around minority neighborhoods.

Flashcard 85: What is the sector model (Hoyt model) of city structure?

Answer: City develops in wedges (sectors) along transportation routes from the CBD. Transportation corridors shape urban growth into pie-shaped sectors.

Flashcard 86: What is the spatial assimilation model of immigrant residential patterns?

Answer: Greater SES leads to moving into less segregated mainstream areas. Economic mobility enables residential mobility to better areas.

Flashcard 87: What is spatial inequality in a sociological context?

Answer: Unequal distribution of resources and opportunities across geographic areas. Geographic disparities create unequal access to jobs, schools, and services.

Flashcard 88: What is gentrification?

Answer: In-migration of higher-income residents raising costs and displacing others. Process that can reduce diversity and affordability in urban areas.

Flashcard 89: What is gentrification?

Answer: In-migration of higher-SES residents raising costs and displacing prior residents. Wealthier newcomers renovate areas, pricing out long-term residents.

Flashcard 90: What is spatial inequality in a sociological context?

Answer: Unequal distribution of resources and opportunities across locations. Geography-based disparities in access to services, wealth, and power.

Flashcard 91: Which policy most directly increased postwar suburban segregation: FHA/VA loans, or Title VI enforcement?

Answer: FHA/VA loans. Subsidized white suburban homeownership while excluding minorities.

Flashcard 92: What is redlining as a historical housing practice in the United States?

Answer: Denying credit/insurance in areas labeled high-risk, often by race. Banks drew red lines on maps around minority neighborhoods.

Flashcard 93: Identify the segregation dimension defined as the degree of physical closeness of groups.

Answer: Clustering. Measures whether minority areas are adjacent to each other.

Flashcard 94: Identify the most direct pathway linking residential segregation to health disparities.

Answer: Differential access to care and chronic exposure to stressors and pollutants. Segregated areas concentrate poverty, pollution, and limited healthcare access.

Flashcard 95: What is de jure segregation?

Answer: Segregation enforced by law or official policy. Historical examples include Jim Crow laws and apartheid systems.

Flashcard 96: Identify the key mechanism by which school funding can reflect spatial inequality in the United States.

Answer: Property-tax-based funding creates unequal school resources by area. Wealthy districts have more tax revenue for schools.

Flashcard 97: What is blockbusting?

Answer: Inducing white flight by stoking fear, then profiting from rapid home sales. Real estate agents exploited racial fears for profit through panic selling.

Flashcard 98: What is the spatial mismatch hypothesis?

Answer: Jobs move to suburbs while disadvantaged workers remain in cities. Creates employment barriers due to transportation gaps.

Flashcard 99: What is de facto segregation?

Answer: Segregation produced by social/economic forces without laws. Results from individual choices and systemic barriers.

Flashcard 100: What is gentrification?

Answer: In-migration of higher-income residents raising costs and displacement. Economic revitalization pushes out original residents.