Census tract ethnoracial diversity does not always lead to block-level diversity (see below):
Census Tract 2037.01, Block Diversity
Census Tract 5700.02, Block Diversity
Changing Ethnoracial Diversity in SW Los Angeles County from 2000 to 2010 (see below):
LA County (SW) Ethnoracial Diversity, 2000
LA County (SW) Ethnoracial Diversity, 2010
This article examines the differences in diversity between a new urbanist subdivision and a standard suburban subdivision. We examine diversity at the macro level in terms of demographic characteristics such as age, sex, and income. We then examine diversity at the micro level, using a network sample to analyze diversity at the level of the social interaction. We find at the macro level that the new urbanist community is more diverse in a number of factors including education, income, and especially age. However, we find this increased diversity does not translate to diverse social interactions at the micro level.
Cabrera & Najarian (2013). "Can new urbanism create diverse communities?" Journal of Planning Education and Research, 33 (4): 427-441.
There is a discord between the categorization of mixed-race data in spatial studies, which has become more complex as the mixed-race population increases. We offer an efficient, spatially-based method for assigning mixed-race respondents into single-race categories. The present study examined diversity within 25 Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States to develop this racial bridging method. We identify prescriptions for each two-race category based on average diversity experiences and similarity scores derived from census tract data. The results show the following category assignments: 1) black-Asians to black, 2) white-others to white, 3) Asian-others to Asian, 4) white-blacks to other, 5) white-Asians to white (if Asian > 4.5%), 6) white-Asians to Asian (if Asian < 4.5%), 7) black-Asians to other (if black > 10.0%), and 8) black-Asians to black (if black < 10.0%). We argue that the proposed method is appropriate for all race-based studies using spatially relevant theoretical constructs such as segregation and gentrification.
Cabrera & Dela Cruz (in progress). "Spatially-based rules for reducing multiple-race into single-race data."