Communities

As America’s mixed-race population grows, the demographic is emerging in diverse communities across the country. While many U.S. cities with high mixed-race populations are concentrated in the West, East Coast cities are also attracting multiracial residents. Suburbs seem to have a special draw. Columbia, Md., and the Philadelphia neighborhood of Mt. Airy offered two case studies of communities with traditions of racial diversity and a high percentage of mixed-race residents.

Shauna Miller Columbia's Ideals in Question Four Decades After Town's Birth Four decades after James W. Rouse built Columbia, Md., it has beeen voted one of America's best places to live and is more racially diverse than America as a whole. However, as newcomers shape the future of this 1960s planned community, questions arise about the city's future identity. » Read More

Christopher M. Matthews Diversity a Draw for Mixed-race Families in Mt. Airy When Lori Tharps and her family left Brooklyn four years ago, they feared they would be unable to find a place to live as diverse and tolerant as the New York neighborhood they were leaving. Then they discovered Mt. Airy. » Read More