Measures black segregation at four geographic levels: state, county, city, and neighborhood, from 1900 to 1990. Cross-references data from the decennial U.S. census with dissimilarity and isolation indices. Concludes that segregation patterns have consistently evolved to minimize white contact with blacks. (MJP)

Interrelated forces which have shaped the distribution of population in metropolitan areas, and the social geography of the suburbs in particular, are described in this work. Contemporary patterns and problems concerning the organization of social space in the outer city are reviewed. Suburbia's residential spatial structure is examined in terms…