ABSTRACT
Whites and nonwhites continue to live in separate neighborhoods almost forty years after the Fair Housing Act (the Act) was signed into law. There may be contentious debate over why it persists, but the fact of segregation cannot be denied. Equally contentious is the debate over what, if anything, should be done. Do whites and nonwhites live in separate communities by choice? If so, perhaps current demographic patterns are of little consequence. Do these patterns merely reflect economic differences across racial and ethnic groups? Then the answer might be simply to employ different economic policies-in particular, better education and training opportunities for racial and ethnic minorities. Or do they reflect the values of an underclass that chooses not to be part of mainstream America? In that case, prison might be the appropriate response.
