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Cities In Transition The ethnic makeup of American cities has changed drastically in recent decades, creating new patterns of segregation.
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Cities In Transition

Friday

Segregation In America: 'Dragging On And On'

The rate of integration has slowed in recent decades, according to demographers. Here, white and black mothers chat as they enjoy the sun at the Alfred E. Smith housing development in New York, May 1956. Bob Wands/AP hide caption

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Bob Wands/AP

Segregation In America: 'Dragging On And On'

Racial segregation in the U.S. housing market has ebbed since it peaked around 1960. But even in 2011, few American neighborhoods are truly integrated, according to demographer John Logan. "Black-white segregation is a phenomenon that is dragging on and on," he says.

Segregation In America: 'Dragging On And On'

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Thursday

In Phoenix, Foreign-Born Workers Find Jobs Faster

Job seekers read their resumes as they stand near a bulletin board with job posting fliers on it at the Arizona Workforce Connection West Valley Career Center in Phoenix. Foreign-born workers have had better employment prospects than U.S. natives. Ross D. Franklin/AP hide caption

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Ross D. Franklin/AP

In Phoenix, Foreign-Born Workers Find Jobs Faster

In 2010, U.S.-born workers lost more than 1 million jobs while foreign-born workers gained more than a half-million nationwide. Experts in Phoenix say foreign-born people are more likely to get employed faster because they are more willing to take any job, at any pay. Researchers say the trend could change the national workforce long-term.

In Phoenix, Foreign-Born Workers Find Jobs Faster

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Wednesday

History Hinders Diversification Of Portland, Ore.

Economists say unemployment is high in Portland and wages are low. But the city is still attracting young, white professionals from the Northeast and Midwest. Amelia Templeton/NPR hide caption

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Amelia Templeton/NPR

History Hinders Diversification Of Portland, Ore.

Although the city is slowly growing more diverse, it still remains one of the most homogeneous big cities in the U.S. Many of the residents are young, white professionals, most of whom are not from there. What has helped keep Portland majority white? Its whiteness.

History Hinders Diversification Of Portland, Ore.

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Tuesday

D.C., Long 'Chocolate City,' Becoming More Diverse

Robert Adams carries his daughter Layla, 2, and walks with Lucy, 4, in front of their home in District Heights, Md. Adams grew up near the Anacostia Historic District of Washington, D.C., but couldn't afford to buy a home there for his family. He now lives in this suburb, a few miles away from his mother and grandmother, who still live in the house where he grew up. Coburn Dukehart/NPR hide caption

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Coburn Dukehart/NPR

D.C., Long 'Chocolate City,' Becoming More Diverse

The nation's capital earned the nickname because of its longtime majority black status. But now Washington is defying trends seen in many other large U.S. cities and becoming whiter. Some people point to housing costs and cost of living as the reasons for the shift.

D.C., Long 'Chocolate City,' Becoming More Diverse

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Monday