Six out of the 10 most racially segregated municipalities in the Bay Area are in Marin County, according to a new report published by the University of California, Berkeley.
Prepared by the university’s Othering & Belonging Institute, the report calculated segregation in each of the Bay Area’s 101 municipalities using data from 2010 census tracts and categorizing demographics into five racial categories — Latinos, Whites, African-Americans, Asians and other.
“The project revealed that despite its reputation as a progressive and inclusive region, the Bay Area, like the rest of the country, remains highly segregated,” said lead researcher Stephen Menendian.
Since 1980, Marin has had a twofold increase in the level of segregation, according to the report.
The study focused on ranking municipalities by what it called “inter-municipal segregation” — or the “segregation of the residents from the larger region” — as opposed to “intra-municipal segregation,” or “the segregation of people between neighborhoods within the city.”
By that measure, the study ranked East Palo Alto first. Latino residents comprise 64.5% of the city’s population of 28,155.
Ross, with a population of 2,415, ranked second. White residents comprise 90.93% of the town.
Belvedere, with 2,068 residents, ranked a close third. White residents comprise 90.86% of the town.
In fourth place is Sausalito, with White residents comprising 87% of its population of 7,061. San Anselmo is fifth, with 86% of 12,336; Fairfax is seventh, with 85% of 7,441; and Mill Valley is ninth, with 85% of 13,903.
Towns and cities became racially homogenous through restrictive land-use policies like redlining and racial deed covenants, which barred non-White families from purchasing homes in certain areas. During World War II, Sausalito was a main shipyard for the war effort. Neighboring Marin City housed many Black shipyard workers, but they were barred from buying property elsewhere in the county after the war.
Marin City Matters activist Paul Austin’s grandparents were not able to spend their money earned in the shipyards to buy a home in now-affluent areas. He said Marin City’s property values would be much higher if Black families were given the same opportunity as White families.
“Even now you still have appraisers that won’t appraise homes in Marin City the same way they would in Sausalito,” Austin said. “It happened to us this year.”
He said the first appraiser low-balled the cost of his home in Marin City, so he fought to get it reappraised.
“But we had to do something White people would never think of or have to deal with — we got some of our White friends to act like the house was theirs,” he said. “We took down our family pictures or anything that might have drawn attention that house belongs to us. My White friend brought pictures of her White family, and it got appraised for $500,000 more than it did the first time.”
Towns and cities have taken steps in recent months to bring more social equity and racial diversity to Marin. Mill Valley, Fairfax, San Anselmo, Tiburon and Sausalito each formed a racial diversity and equity committee or passed a Black Lives Matter resolution.
Austin said he appreciates the conversation is starting, adding that more affordable housing and public transportation would be key to ending segregation.
“At this point we need to make sure Marin is welcoming to people of color,” he said. “We need for the systems to be changed so Black folks can get justice, because so far it’s not happened.”
Aside from the inordinate number of Marin municipalities, the top 10 included two similarly small cities, Portola Valley and Woodside, both in San Mateo County. Cupertino, in Santa Clara County, is No. 10, according to the report.
