UC Berkeley

Racial residential segregation is known to affect the social, physical, and mental well-being of segregated minority groups in the United States. Racial residential segregation creates different exposures to a variety of resources that enhance health, including economic opportunity and access to health-promoting resources such as grocery stores and parks. Racial residential segregation also increases exposure to adverse conditions such as crime, alcohol, and toxic air pollutants. Few studies examining the relationship between segregation and health have focused on Asian Americans. However, data show that several Asian Americans groups experience considerable racial residential segregation, and are now the fastest growing population in the country. Furthermore, high-degrees of segregation have enabled political power in Black communities as a mechanism to counter the negative effects of isolation. Much less, however, is known about the effects of segregation on the political and social capital of Asian Americans and its benefits to health. Further research is needed to test the complex association between residential segregation, its mechanistic pathways, and overall health status of Asian Americans.

In this three-paper dissertation, I ask 1) What are the potential mechanisms by which racial segregation is associated with self-rated physical and mental health status among Asian Americans in the United States? 2) How does social capital and political empowerment, moderate the association of racial segregation and self-rated mental health status among Asian Americans? 3) How can building political empowerment be utilized by public health departments to address the effects of racial segregation and the health of Asian Americans? Paper #1 examines the empirical evidence of the association between residential segregation and Asian American health by critically reviewing the literature with a relational geography lens, and is one of the first papers to examine this literature. Paper #2 empirically tests the role of residential segregation on health status of AAs and the moderating roles of social capital and collective political participation. To do so, I employ multilevel modeling methods using the California Health Interview Survey (2011-12). Paper #3 studies the role of political empowerment in addressing segregation and health, and utilizes comparative multi-site case-study design, key informant interviews, participant observations, and document reviews that to review in California counties with high Asian-white residential segregation. Specifically, I document examples of collective political empowerment, and discuss the role of health practitioners--particularly those employed at local health departments--in building political empowerment as a health promotion and equity strategy.