Urban sprawl and racial inequality in intergenerational mobility.

This article examines how urban sprawl influences racial inequality in intergenerational mobility (IM) between Black and White populations across 874 metropolitan counties in the contiguous United States. Using structural equation modeling, the study identifies three key mediating factors—racial segregation, racial bias, and social capital (measured by economic connectedness)—through which urban form affects racial disparities in IM. Findings indicate that greater urban compactness (the opposite of sprawl) is associated with increased racial segregation and economic connectedness, both of which correlate with higher racial inequality in IM, while simultaneously reducing explicit and implicit racial bias, which tends to lessen this inequality. The study highlights racial segregation as the most significant mediator and notes that the effects of urban form on racial inequality in IM are more pronounced for men than women. These results underscore the complex role of urban spatial structure in perpetuating or mitigating racial disparities in socioeconomic mobility and suggest that urban planning and housing policies should carefully consider these dynamics.