via AlterNet:
Racially Exclusive Suburbs Across U.S. Dubbed the New 'Whitopia'
By Lewis Beale,
Miller-McCune.com. Posted October 7, 2009.
Some of the fastest-growing areas in America are also the most Caucasian -- author Rich Benjamin's new book explores the new establishment of white ghettos.In Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, where 95 percent of the population is white, Rich Benjamin saw more Confederate flags than black people. Not that Benjamin was looking for suggestions of racism, but in his forthcoming book, Searching for Whitopia: An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America (Hyperion, Oct. 6), he was trying to discover why some of the fastest-growing areas in America are also the most Caucasian.
"There's a long-term harm when Americans accept balkanization as a way of life," says Benjamin, who is an African American. "Segregation can appear to allay social tensions, but it worsens them in the long run. Optimal democracies require more than voting; they require social integration and involvement."
Benjamin defines Whitopias as towns that are much whiter than the nation as a whole, which means they are more than 75 percent Caucasian. He looked at areas with a population growth of more than 6 percent since 2000, in which the growth was 90 percent white. Then he set out to Forsyth County, Ga., (98,000 people, 684 of them black), St. George, Utah, Coeur d'Alene and other vanilla outposts to find out why folks were moving there.
"There are forces that push people out
, like diversity and crumbling infrastructure and high home prices," Benjamin says. "And there are pull factors, like more home for your dollar , beautiful natural amenities and safety, and the perceived comfort that comes with homogeneity." ..........(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/politics/143071/racially_exclusive_suburbs_across_u.s._dubbed_the_new_%27whitopia%27